The Lord of the Stones
by Magnus Parvus
Summary: This is the epic. It’s a story 8 comic books long, a major work for a comic book story. And it takes its inspiration from The Lord of the Rings as do all works of fantasy. It’s a sprawling tale of adventure with Slobo Fraggins and his fellowship of Young
1. Chapter 1

Part 1 "Journey to Innbee Tweenerth."

The Young Justice gang was passing the time lazily, relaxing in their headquarters. As per usual they were seated around the large screen TV. "What is it Gandalf?"

Bart had a huge sword draped in his arms. He gazed at the screen mouth agape. "This is the coolest part guys. Aren't you glad you came over to watch it Ciss?"

Cissie stared at the screen dreamily. "I like the Elvin archers. How many times have you seen it Bart?"

"Do you mean when it was theaters or DVD?"

Robin rushed into the room, "I just received a message from Batman, I need your help to catch Poison Ivy."

Bart upon hearing this rushed off. Robin continued, "She's been reported seen breaking and entering the laboratory of a professor Ray Stillin. Just a few blocks from here."

Bart returned with a large green bucket. "Ok Robin take your costume off and I'll throw it at you."

Bart waved the large bucket menacingly at Robin who gasped. "What the hell are you doing Bart?"

"Helping you catch poison ivy." Bart stared at him innocently lifting several green leaves from the bucket.

Click for Enlarged Map

The gang jumped into the cycle and speeded off. "Professor Stillin was a renowned chemist specializing in crystalline structures. He was involved in cutting edge experimentation." They flew to his laboratory. Professor Raymond Stillin PhD was inscribed on the laboratory door. They entered the room to see Ivy with a shining object cradled in her hands. The bright light enveloped Ivy and then reached out to them. Ivy seemed to disappear before their very eyes before they were completely blinded by the light.

They stared as the haze of pure white about them began to clear somewhat, revealing greenish shapes before them.

Cassie went to rub her eyes. Then she blinked and stared out at a vastly changed world. They were just outside a thick green forest, in a green area of wild weeds and shrubs. Before her were all the members of Young Justice.

"My god you're all naked." She looked down at herself. "My god I'm naked." She quickly hid behind a shrub. She stepped on a half seen object, both hard and sharp to her bare foot. "Ow!"

She looked down wide-eyed to see a pile of humanoid skeleton with various medieval pieces of armor and weaponry. "Oh my god! You'll never guess what I've found."

"Clothing?" asked Kon slyly.

"Of a sort." Cassie began to clamp pieces of the armor to her. She wore a breastplate and a short-scaled skirt as she stepped out to with sword and shield in hand like an Amazon of myth.

"Hey I found some too," said Kon from behind a shrub. "They're all over the place. That doesn't make any sense."

"There has to be a reason for it," Robin stared a skeleton whose helm had been cleaved into, and whose skull was split. "Some sort of battle or massacre."

The gang dressed themselves with pieces from the metal armor and mail from the scattered corpses.

Impulse wore a helm far too large for him. It slumped down in front of his face. "Oh man, this helm's too deep."

Kon pressed his hands to the helm and tried to press the metal together to give the helm a better fit. "Here let me adjust the fit to accommodate your smaller brain."

Superboy strained slightly, then more fiercely as he attempted to compact the metal. He looked to see that he had bent it only slightly. "What's the deal, I should be more powerful then a locomotive but I'm barely to able dent steel in my bare hands. This should be a cinch with my tactile telekinesis."

"Hmm," said Robin. "See if you can fly Kon."

"Sure I can fly." Kon took two steps and launched himself into the air.

He hit the ground with a large thud and looked up surprised. "Huh?"

Cassie called out, "I can't fly either, just jump really high." She leapt into the air. She descended slowly however as a feather would. "Don't fall as quickly though."

Her feet touched the ground. "Does anybody's superpower work?"

That's when Secret came forward, oddly she too seemed naked, no longer wearing the costume suit built and given to her by the D.O.A. She wore strips of armor. Her body seemed unusually solid and flesh like, she no longer trailed a stream of mist in her wake. She smiled radiantly. "My control over my powers is better than ever, effortless. I can turn completely solid. I feel almost human."

She shook her head slightly, her eyes stared down perplexed at a small green ring on her hand, it however looked ghostlike transparent but with the haze like heat rising in the air. "No, no not human."

Anita stepped out from where she stood unlike the others she had not elected to cover herself in armor. She stepped out completely naked wearing only a small cameo necklace around her neck.

Kon stared. "How come you don't wear armor?"

"I have no amour for armor it chaffs. The magical energy in this place is overwhelming. it makes controlling and using magic that much easier." Anita disappeared in a puff of smoke. They saw a plumb of smoke rising from the bushes very far off in the distance. Slobo shouted. "That's my babe, that smoky puff of magic draggin' across the sky."

Anita appeared before them again in another haze of smoke. "My teleport range is unbelievable. I've never been able to go that far before."

"All our powers are changed." Secret looked at them earnestly. "There is only magical energy here and those who can access the energy can wield great power." As she said this she grew in statue, she towered above them. The armor on her body grew with her and changed from a harsh blacked iron to gleaming polished silver. The ripped and rotted cloak she wore lengthened into a beautiful thin white and silver cape.

The others gaped at her astonished. "Just how powerful are you?" Robin asked.

Secret returned to her previous size but remained wearing her new vestments, which shrunk with her. "Very. Although, I think, not powerful enough, not for what's faces us."

Slobo questioned her. "What are we facing?"

She looked at Slobo with sadness and sympathy in her eyes. "Something very, very bad. But what I can't say exactly. I feel I know but it's a tale untold."

Suddenly they heard screams in the distance, in a language utterly foreign to their ears. "Behold great evil. Begone face of evil."

"Let's go." Cassie commanded. The gang ran toward the sound of the screams through the brush. There, in a clearing ahead of them, they could see a group of short stocky creatures clad in thick armor, they wore full face helms which shrouded their faces, which was just as well, for they lay scattered about on the ground dead in front of them.

Before them they could see three huge pig-like creatures dresses in crude and loose fitting plate and mail armor.

A man in a hooded cloak ran toward them. He screamed at them.

"Help. Help."

The man in the cloak ran past them. The three pig-like creatures came running toward them slinging their weapons menacingly.

Slobo ran out to greet them. He swung the mace he had found at the first pig man hitting him squarely in the side of the head and denting in his helm. "How ya like I mace your face?"

The creature was unmoved and went to swing its mace at Slobo who zipped out of the way cautiously. "Wow! That didn't even, how should I phrase it? Phase it."

Cass stepped up to on of the creatures and swung her sword butting the flat end of it against the creature's temple. The creature merely smiled at her and went to bring its giant halberd down on her.

Cassie leapt backwards high up into the air escaping its blow.

"They feel no pain. They are creatures of evil magic. They are not alive they have no souls. The only way to defeat them is to kill them." With this Secret stepped forward and motioned to one of the pig men who was ready to take another swipe at Slobo. In the next instant the pig man began to dry up and fall into dust. He collapsed into a powder of black dust.

"Fraggin' A!" yelled Slobo who unleashed the full power of his might. He whipped his mace around, crushing in the head of another of the pig men.

The remaining pig man looked at his two dead comrades confused, as if wondering why they weren't fighting anymore. Then a harsh sound was heard from the bushes behind him. The pig-man smiled revealing his rotten teeth.

"What's he so happy about?" Kon questioned.

From out of the bushes bound a huge white creature about the size of a polar bear with similar claws and fangs. However his body was not coated in fur but what looked too be hard crystalline shards. It towered above the Young Justice members.

A gust of wind swept the Young Justice members off their feet as they were thrown backwards. All save for Secret, she now stood growing in size before them facing the giant white creature. "All of you back."

The creature roared at Secret. Bringing its huge paw back to take a swing at her.

Secret motioned to the creature's arm, as the creature brought it forward. It simply fell off. Black thick blood spilled out from the creature. It roared savagely and opened its jaws to devour Secret. Then its lower jaw fell off. Its head fell off backwards and it tumbled to the ground, crushing the other pig man, underneath it.

Secret fell to her knees in horror. "What have I done?"

Anita looked to her. "But they're not alive, you said."

Secret peered at her confused. "Yes, yes that right, not living." The gang rushed forward.

Robin approached the area where the creature had fallen. He pawed at the ground and saw the entire creature had crumbled into a pile of white crystals steeped in a black sludge. "Hmm." Robin said sniffing it. "Almost smelled like salt, salt and crude oil."

The man in the hooded cloak approached them.

"Oh thank you thank you you have saved my life"

"What the heck is he saying?" Cass questioned rhetorically.

"He's thanking us for saving him." Secret closed her eyes and concentrated. "I'll make it so you all can understand."

"Thank you, thank you, a thousand thank yous ".

The man lowered his hood. He was about 4 ½ feet in height. His arms and legs were stocky and his head was covered in thick hair, he was relatively clean-shaven with short sideburns and a trim moustache. "My name is Ariss Tawtell of the clan Howtoodoowit. Head adviser to the king."

"The king?" Impulse chirped enthusiastically. "You mean Elvis."

"Why would I, a DeWorfer advise the El Fvis king? Have the children of Men, become so blind to the races that they cannot tell DeWorfer from an El Fvis?"

Cassie explained. "Well we're not from around here, we're from far and distant lands."

"8 brave youth from distant lands! Alas it may be as the legends say. Could it be true?" Ariss gazed at them in wonderment.

"Could what be true?" Cass asked confused.

"Enough! All will be explained. We must return to the city, before we run afoul of more such evil creatures that do plague us of late." He led them to grassy area. Before them stood wide grassland plain that stretched very far into the distance, behind which they could see a huge jumble of mountains.

He moved a large flat stone on the ground before them revealing a deep hole.

Ariss dropped down into it. "This is the way into the city."

"We entering through the sewer?" Cass looked down into the hole disgusted.

Slobo stared at the semi-clad form of Anita, as she descended into the hole. "Doesn't bother me, I already got my mind in the gutter."

The gang followed Ariss though the wide short tunnel. Ariss managed ok being about a foot shorter than the gang. They had to duck their heads however to avoid hitting the ceiling.

The tunnel was extremely well constructed with square smooth walls. Robin felt his hand against it in the dim light. "Its almost as smooth as glass I haven't been able to find any seems in it whatsoever."

"You won't either. It's not like human construction. The walls are carved from the very rock. This entire plane is a giant marble bed." Ariss responded.

"It is from that that we have constructed the great city." The tunnel ended and they climbed up into a small room. There was a great deal brighter here and they could see the smoothly carved and ornamented walls of green marble

"This whole room is carved from one piece of stone that's incredible." Cassie exclaimed.

"Whole room…" He led them out of the door. From which the light was cast into the room.

He spread his arms wide before the vista before them. "The whole city. The entire city of Elhm Erawld is carved from green marble."

There below them was what looked to be an entire medieval city. Not built in wood and stone but carved from green marble. At the far end of the city they could see a giant marble wall and carved into the wall itself high above the rest of the city was a great square towered castle.

"Come you must see the king."

They passed through the streets of the city. They walked the narrow streets seeing the citizens walk past. All were similar to Ariss in stature and build. They were however looking a good deal more sickly and thin. Every now and then they could see someone pushing a wheelbarrow full of goods.

"A lot of wheelbarrows." Kon noted.

"The carts and horses of men are not suited to our ways. As yet however I do wish we but had them so that we could eat of their horseflesh."

"You eat horse?" Cissie asked.

"When one is staving there are many things one would eat. You would not hold at horses." Ariss looked to a small thin DeWorfer child.

They gang strode up into the steps of the palace following Ariss Tawtell and a group of guards decked out in loose armor. They entered through the doors of the castle, which were guarded by guards in strange shimmering silver armor. Robin looked toward them curiously. As they entered a youngish DeWorfer wearing no armor came running up to Ariss Tawtell. "Ariss you're still alive. I had feared the worst. Who are these strange humans you bring with you?"

"Your majesty. Indeed fate has smiled upon us. These humans rescued me as I attempted to gain audience with the lady of the wood. These humans come from a far away land, and possess great magical powers."

"Magical powers, as was spoken of in the legends? I dare not think it true. I had long ago given up hope in such miracles. Yet there are eight, one for each number of the stones as is written on the slates."

"Greetings strangers from far off lands. I am King Aleks Ahnder of the Royal Howse Clan. " He bowed before them.

Cass stepped up to him. "And I'm Cassie of the clan Sandsmark. I am pleased to meet you. But we really don't understand. What kind of threat are you under? What are these prophetic slates and what's all this about stones?"

"Come follow me to the great library. All shall be explained."

They entered a huge room in the castle. Lining the walls were thousands of large books, stacked as well were huge files of green slates.

Ariss motioned to the walls. "This is the great library of Aleks Ahnder. For many years we have been collecting all that is known about our world into this great library. Most of the books are from the worlds of men. As well our own peoples newer writings are also on paper. The great works of old are carved on giant slates. They do not wither and turn to dust with age. Even fire should not harm the knowledge contained in them."

He pulled out one of the large states, and showed it to them. "This is the prophecy that speaks of you."

"Eight stones there were, and staked for each too a hero in its wake.

To save the world when the lord awakes to make the heavens quake. "

"Secret can you do that thing again I can't understand a word of it." Robin asked politely.

A cloudy haze began to cover the picture it rearranged itself until it became the more familiar

Eight stones there were, and staked for each, a hero in its wake.

To save the world when the lord awakes to make the heavens quake.

"The lord? What lord is he taking about?" Cassie asked.

Aleks was surprised. "Do you not know? In what lands on Innbee Tweenerth do you live?"

"Oh we don't live in Innbee Tweenerth, we live far away on regular earth." Impulse explained.

"Then you do not know the tale then of the lord of the stones?" He showed them another slate. On it was written:

In the dawning of the world came the wizard of the stones.

Beneath one flag unfurled he joined the kings upon their thrones.

For together they would fight and together they would stand.

For thus combined in might they might slay the evil creatures of the land.

So the wizard forged his arts with all that he had known.

And so came the first of parts of the treasures made in stone.

To far lands they traveled he brung an army with full wagons.

Yet with but the red flaming stone he flung from the sky the dragons.

With fleets he sailed the oceans blue and was not harried in the least.

He motioned through the stone of blue and destroyed the water beasts.

The Eeklipsez were an evil lot who blinded men with fright.

It must be said in vain they fought the yellow stone of light.

With skill his arts thus did progress thus came the stone twas clear.

With this stone to dispossess of life the wolves who huffed and puffed the air.

The strolling trees would with their roots prey upon the structures of the town.

These roots were changed to soot and clay by the earthen stone of brown.

The beast of Plaeg It had killed many. Man kneeled before it reeling.

But life, it nevermore stilled any, its fate sealed by green stone of healing.

And so it was with near nil beasts left to kill, with so many prone and beaten.

Though its creation was his will, he was still without the white stone of Eden.

The lord of stones could not admit defeat nor could he be at fault.

For he but lacked the bits of meat of the gentle creatures made of salt.

But how to slay these strange creatures who even but lacked breath.

He took all the stones rearranged features into the stone of black and death.

The gentle creatures knew of fighting not and looked at him but sad.

The stone of death slew them with a biting rot that drove the wizard mad.

Now gone was that which could create the Eden stone of white.

Gone was that which could twist his key fate from that of locked in night.

Somewhere deep inside the salt above, somewhere deep he moans.

For he who thus killed all he loved became The Lord of the Stones.

Ariss explained. "The lord of the stones is immortal. He is said to have been born thousands of years ago. By creating the stones He helped man slay all the beasts of the world. But he went mad and has remained for over 2000 years in the barren salted wastes of P'Taetoe Tship. But he has awoken. He seeks to wish to destroy us though I know not why."

Kon smiled confidently at him. "Seeks to destroy you? You talking about the few uglies we met on the plain above? Don't worry buddy we'll have your problem solved in no time."

"I'm afraid there is more to it then that." Aleks exclaimed. He led them up a large square staircase. They followed it till they came to the top of a great tower. It stood overlooking the wall surrounding the city. They stared at the jagged mountains and a gigantic waterfall they could see falling from the elevated mountain face high above them. It sent tons of water careening downward with incredible force.

"Cool!" Bart leaned over the wall. "That's like the size of Niagara falls only tons bigger."

The gang approached the edge of the tower and looked down from it. That's when they saw the problem. The city walls rose near vertically upwards from a lake far below them that the falls poured into. On the opposite side of the lake at a lower elevation they could make out thousands of P'Orhks in combat gear and makeshift armor. "We have been under siege for over a month. My people are starving. And we can neither escape nor bring supplies in. And to think our isolation once use to protect us and made us both wealthy and learned."

He pointed to a structure to the left of them. It seamed as if huge steps had been carved into the rock right up to the mountainous elevation close to the edge of the falls. But those steps were cracked and battered crumbled like a bombed out building. "Those are what remains of the great boating locks of Haerr. We joined together the highlands and the lowlands, and thus were a great and wealthy center of trade. Alas the locks lie beyond our walls and we could not do anything as the P'Orhks and other evil creatures of magic destroyed them."

They looked in awe at the now destroyed massive locks. "I can't believe that. To build that thing by hand must of taken hundreds of years. "

"That is but a trifle should the city fall. My ancestors first arrived here thousands of years ago, and mined the marble and sent it downriver to the lowlands of men. This was a time of great prosperity as the lands of men were growing. And so too the demand for marble for their castles, and cities. So the city was carved from the mined stone. Then nearly 500 years ago the lady of the wood arrived among the El Fvis, whose lands had grown smaller and people grown weaker. She barred all passage through her realm. And stopped all contact between the highlands and the lowlands. The kingdoms fell into disarray. The lands are more divided then ever. The great kingdoms fell. And the lords of the lands fought each other. We built the locks and thus became the only route between the highlands of the north and the lowlands of the south."

Alex led them to a large carved slate that resembled a map.

"Having the great forest of El Eeg at our backs used to be to us a blessing protecting us from our enemies, but now it does nothing but prevent our escape."

"Then here's what we'll do," said Cassie, looking at a carved slate of the lands of Innbee Tweenerth.

End of Part 1

"The Lord of the Stones" m


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2 "Charging P'Orhks"

The Young Justice gang crawled of the hole leading onto the plain. Anita turned the corner cautiously, wielding both swords at the ready. "Coast is clear behind us no P'Orhks in sight."

"Looks like we're in no danger at all." she said as she stepped into the wooded brush. She turned surprised as she stared into a group of archers with slung bows drawn and pointed at her.

From all around the group tall slender archers with long combed back slick black hair and sharply pointed ears approached. They were equipped with giant longbows as tall as themselves each equipped with a long white-feathered arrow. They wore garments of shimmering white that hung from them loosely but oddly stiffly as well. Each wore large shimmering white capes that folded around their feet.

"The El Fvis." Aleks gasped. "Please listen we mean you no harm, and we do not wish to trespass in your wood. I am King Aleks Ahnder of the DeWorfer city of Elhm Erawld. I seek an audience with the King of the El Fvis, and the Queen of the El Eeg Forest."

One of the El Fvis, the tallest and most handsome, strode forward. He smiled arrogantly looking down at Aleks Ahnder. "And for what reason would the King of the small Deworfers seek the King of the tall El Fvis?"

Aleks looked up at him earnestly. "To reveal a threat to both our people."

"You bring with you a threat to our people. The humans are the despoilers of the earth, Long have they been our enemy. What would you say to the El Fvis King to explain such things?"

Aleks stared brazenly up at the El Fvis knight. "I would say that these are but five of the eight heroes of the stones. This is what I would say to the El Fvis King but that I were allowed to speak with him."

"In fact you do speak with him, with words so well spoken. The heroes of the stones!" The tall handsome El Fvis raised his hand and all the bows were lowered. "I am King of all the El Fvis people. I am King El Evan son of Gud Luvin."

Aleks held out his hand. "I am Aleks Ahnder of the Royal Howse clan. King of the DeWorfers."

El Evan smiled. "Come I will take you to her majesty, the immortal queen of the forest."

Cassie stretched out over the city walls. She saw small masses of crude boats on the other side. The P'Orhk boats were oddly shaped being square and flat on both ends like floating matchboxes.

There were many of them bundled along the other shore she could make out a group of P'Orhks carrying a new one to the water and dumping it in. "More boats all the time. They're going to attack soon."

"Ha let them," Cissie said, staring out over the walls at the huge drop before them. "They'll never be able to scale these walls. Why, a group of archers would make short work of them before they ever came close."

That is perhaps correct. Ariss said standing beside her. "However the number of archers at our command is quite few. Unlike you humans we have short arms and cannot pull back a bowstring that far. It's a shame really as we have a great number of bows and arrows in the warehouses that are made in the far northlands, they are the finest made in all of Innbee Tweenerth and are in great demand in all the lands.

Now I would gladly trade them for the pittance of a meager sack of flour.

"Hmm…" said Cissie, "I think I might have a solution to your lack of archers problem."

Impulse and Cissie wandered into a large hall.

Inside it long giant tables were benched together. Seated around these the DeWorfers ate silently. A DeWorfer ladled out soup from a giant pot.

"C'mon." Cissie exclaimed. "Let's get some archery volunteers." She wandered down on of the table isles.

Terror and misery were encrusted in the faces of the DeWorfers. Even the children sat silently. "Geez how depressing," Bart thought. "They need something to take their minds off everything." He smiled as he noticed one of the children throwing a dice on the table.

The gang was led through a deep forest. They traveled along a narrow winding path. Robin looked up at the surrounding woodland. "The vegetation is getting thicker the deeper we go."

Then he spotted the tops of large trees in the distance. He kept walking toward it but they didn't seem to get much closer which meant that they were very far away. Then they reached an area where the canopy of the surrounding trees was broken. There towering in the air far above them and the rest of the forest tress were enormous pines. The stood side by side in a huge line that seemed like a huge wall separating the inner and the outer forest.

They finally came to the base of the trees and gazed in awe at the tree trunks, which measured the circumference of a large house.

They wandered on past the pines and here the path changed. No longer was it covered by bare earth but was covered in a crisscross knitted fabric of thin and twisted yellow vines. "Hey that's cool, all the paths here are covered with yellow sticks." Anita remarked.

"Ya mean we're following the yellow stick road?" Slobo smugly remarked. They had walked quite a distance when they crossed over a large flowing fiver. Here trees on either side of the river reached out with their branches to each other. Hung from crisscrossed hugging branches of thick and sturdy vines was a small footbridge. "We cross over The River Daans."

Slobo nudged Anita with his elbow and twisted his hips Chubby Checker style. "More like a twisting stream." Anita covered her face to repress her smile.

They traveled a great while further, until they reached a small stream. Beyond the stream lay huge rose bushes as large as maple tress. El Evan called out before the giant rose bush. It began to fold outwards laying its thin branches over the stream. Soon there was a bridge of full roses spanning the stream and leading into the palace grounds beyond.

The gang stepped across the bridge of roses before the thorny gates and stared in wonder at the awesome castle before them. It loomed high into the air the trunks of tall trees providing the support structure on a lattice work of intertwining branches of vines of all sorts that formed the living walls of the castle.

The gang entered the castle and looked up to see that it had no roof they could see the clear blue sky above them. There sitting before them on a giant thrown of twisted vines was Ivy. She wore a thick gown of shimmering leaves. On her head she wore a crown of thorns and roses.

Cissie watched as the DeWorfer women and men she had gathered up practiced shooting her modified bows at a target. The modification she had made to the bows was a simple one. She had extended the grip on each bow with an attached small handle. This technique required that that the archer be of greater then average strength, which suited the DeWorfers just fine as their small stocky limbs were imbibed with great strength.

Kon looked on with skepticism. "Doesn't mater how strong they are. You're never going to hit any of them way over there on the other side of the lake. And I don't care what Cass says they're never going to attack. Scaling this wall is impossible. I mean look at it, it's way too high to throw a grappling hook, and they there's no place to lay down ladders to scale the walls."

Cass shouted out from where she was gazing over the edge of the wall. She noticed the P'Orhks beginning to line their boats together in lines running toward the castle. "They're coming."

The DeWorfers under Cissie's command looked nervously over the walls at the approaching lines of P'Orhks. One of them shot an arrow, but it landed far short of any P'Orhks and plinked harmlessly into the water.

Cissie raised her hand. "Don't waste your ammo wait till they get in range."

Ariss called to a DeWorfer guard. "Get every man to the walls! We're being attacked!"

A group of DeWorfers with long spears and halberds rushed up to the edge of the city walls.

The line of P'Orhks was growing. The boats at the front of the rows began to come into range of the archers.

Cissie commanded. "Draw." The group of DeWorfers strung back their arrows.

"Loose." she commanded. A volley of arrows went fling outward catching several of the P'Orhks in the first few boats of the rows. Several of them toppled overboard sinking underneath the water like stones.

Those in the boats behind them, who pushed forward to take their place, quickly replaced the ones that fell overboard.

Cissie commanded another volley of arrows be released this time even more hit their target, yet those in the back rows quickly replaced them.

The gang approached Ivy seated regally on her thrown. "Well, well. Long time no see, centuries in fact. Although come to think of it, it hasn't really been long enough. Is this a pathetic attempt to capture me and bring me to justice?"

Robin stepped forward. "No Ivy."

"Queen Ivy." She corrected him.

Robin continued. "We're not here for any of that, I'm asking for your help."

"My help?" She laughed.

Aleks Ahnder stepped before Robin and flung himself on his knees and bowed before Ivy. "Oh great Lady of the wood, I beseech you to let my people pass through your forest to escape the siege of hunger."

What occurs beyond the borders of great guardian pines of the El Eeg forest, is of no concern to me or the El Fvis.

"It shall be your concern when the mad wizard's P'Orhk army breaches your boarders. The prophecy speaks that when the wizard awakes he shall consume all the lands in blackness, and can only be opposed by the eight heroes of the stones." Aleks spoke sternly.

"Perhaps a test of the hero's mettle. There is still the problem of the growing ring of death that lies deep in the forest." One of the El Fvis suggested.

"Yes." said Ivy thoughtfully. "Yes! If one of you can remove the ring of death from the forest I shall grant your request."

"Ring of death, piece of cake. Death is my middle name. Well maybe more so my last name. Fraggins. Slobo Fraggins. Take it easy guys I got this covered."

Slobo headed off into the woods.

Robin stepped to follow him. He was stopped by Secret's hand on his shoulder. "Let him go Robin. Only he can do this."

The P'Orhks long lines of boats, attached end to end, had reached the outer wall. The P'Orhks passed down through the lines of boats giant bars of metal. When they had reached the wall, they began attaching the pieces of metal together, connected them with the metal bars in the other boats, until the metal formed a grid. This they slung a thick rope net across. They tipped this against the wall and constantly added to it from the bottom. "That giant net mesh ladder is coming ever closer to the top of the walls. This attack was very well planed." Cassie looked below her.

Cissie flung arrow after arrow at the P'Orhks. She often hit them in critical moments when P'Orhks lifted the framework higher so that more pieces could be stuck on the bottom.

Finally the netting reached the area just underneath the wall.

Then they came at them. Slow, sloppy and uncoordinated the P'Orhks climbed the netting.

Cissie struck one with her arrow sending it crashing into another who was climbing up behind him.

The DeWorfers, Cass and Kon fought stubbornly any of the P'Orhks trying to scale the walls.

Time passed, the sky grew darker.

The night grew thicker. Both black and red blood stained the green marble of the city's wall. All through the evening the P'Orhks had kept coming ferociously. Cissie slumped down exhausted, her bow hung limply at her side. Cass came up behind her and lifted her to her feet. "I'd have thought you'd be all excited to be here."

"What are you crazy?" Cissie stared out at the mass of limbs and body parts, by the wall.

"Think of it Cissie, you might finally meet your dream fantasy man."

Cissie's eyes brightened. "A tall dark Elvin archer. Ha, and you laughed." She reinvigorated slung an arrow in her bow

Slobo retreated into the forest sniffing the air every now and then. "Yup, it's getting stronger alright. This place reeks with the scent of death but it ain't right somehow."

Slobo followed the scent, further up ahead he saw an area where the trees had lot their leaves. Grayness seemed to hang over the area. He walked toward the gray haze. Lying on the ground in the area of the grayness Slobo could make out several dead forest creatures. He walked into the gray area, he instantly felt cold as if the temperature had dropped suddenly. Everywhere he looked in the gray area he saw nothing but dead things. Dead insects. Dead frogs and snakes. Dead rabbit like creatures. Dead elk. He sniffed deeply. "That's funny, there's no funny smell."

Then he noticed something when he began to look at them closely.

"My god they've been dead for ages. Riga mortis set in weeks ago for most of these animals, but there's nuthin' decomposing. Geez there's nothing living here. Even the bacteria are dead." He began to notice the gray darkness about him getting steadily darker. He tried looking through the gray haze. "Damn sun's going down, without light I wont be able to find a fraggin' thing in this mess. Oh well, guess I'll have to wait to tomorrow when the sun comes out again." And with a carefree manner, he lay down among the dead animals and went fitfully to sleep.

P'Orhk and DeWorfer corpses smeared the floors of the towers. Not one had been able to breech the walls yet but the defenders were growing tired. Cissie could no longer feel her arms. It seems she had pulled back the bowstring a thousand times. Her arrows struck with deadly accuracy. The creatures she killed never behaved as living creatures would. They did not scream in pain. They did not clasp for life. They rushed headlong towards her onslaught, oblivious to their own destruction. Robotic, controlled, inhuman. No matter how much she willed herself to her task she could not help but be unnerved by her actions. As Robotic as they were and perhaps because of it she felt a certain amount of sympathy with the poor creatures. And with each one that she slew that feeling nagged at her more. "We can't keep this up. The city's going to fall."

Cassie ignored her as she thrust he sword into another P'Orhk trying to scale the wall.

"Cassie did you hear me! We've got to get everybody out of here as quick as possible!"

"We'll hold out. The gang will come back with reinforcements, you'll see." Kon was leaning over the edge of the wall swinging his sword down upon the head of a P'Orhk climbing up the net. The P'Orhk grabbed at his sword hand then pulled him over the wall crashing into the sing of boats piled with P'Orhks beneath him.

"Kon!" Cassie yelled. Without thought she leapt over the wall descending slowly into the area Kon had fallen.

Kon looked up from where he had landed in the boat to the P'Orhk who stood before him. The P'Orhk smiled as he raised his sword. Cassie descended slowly, belting him in the face with the heel of her boot. The P'Orhk flew backwards into the water. "This little piggy is having none."

Kon stood with her back to back as they faced the P'Orhks on either side of them.

A P'Orhks mace smashed into Kon's plated thigh denting it in and puncturing it in places. Kon slumped forward.

The P'Orhk went to bring a mace down on Kon's head.

The P'Orhks head and mace hand where cut off cleanly by Cassie's heavy long sword.

She grabbed the slumped Kon and jumped high into the air over the walls.

Cassie descended with Kon in her arms. She gestured to Cissie. "Get Bart, and start evacuating the city. We can't protect it. It's going to fall."

Cissie ran into the assembly hall where the citizens gathered to eat. The scene was animated as a large group of DeWorfers was gathered around Bart with small sheets and pencils in their hands. They tossed dice on the table and shouted.

"Ha! 10 hit points."

"I swing at the P'Orhk on my left."

"Now that's something you don't see every day." Cissie approached the table. "Bart, Cassie wants you to take a message to Robin."

Slobo awoke the next morning to the same dull gray haze surrounding him. Strangely they haze seemed to be emanating from him. "Geez, giant ring of death, what a pain in the ass."

At that moment he became aware of a sharp object beneath him. "Ow."

He reached underneath him and grabbed a hard black pyramid shaped object. The moment he touched it the gray haze about him began to disappear. Everything cleared, he looked up to see the blue sky through the branches of the naked dead trees. He held up the stone in his hand to examine it. The stone was the deepest shade of black. So absorbing was the black that it seemed not to be a stone at all merely an object of completely empty space. It seemed freezing to the touch yet was not cold. It seemed heavy yet weighed little.

He looked at it with fear and confusion. "Man, this thing scares me." He shook his head. "Get a grip Slobo, it's a stupid rock." With that he slipped it into his pocket and headed back toward the gang, whistling as he stepped over the dead animal corpses.

Bart Ran into the palace escorted by El Fvis knights, in their white capes and shimmering white garments, who had run along side him. "Robin! Robin!" he shouted.

Robin stepped out from his tent and called over to Bart. "I'm here. What's up?"

"I've got a message from Cassie, ok now hold on a second." He said panting hard.

"You have to catch your breath?"

"No," he said panting, "I'm trying to figure out what the message was. Oh yeah. I wrote it down." He took out a piece of paper and stared at it quizzically. "Hmm. The sky is falling. The sky is falling. We must evaluate the sky."

Robin grabbed the note, looking at it in disbelief. "What are these little chicken scratchings?"

Robin examined the note carefully. "It's not sky falling, it's city falling. We've got to get reinforcements back there quickly."

"You may not leave until I give you leave to do so." Ivy walked regally behind them.

Slobo entered from the forest behind them, nonchalantly walking into the sheltered glade. "I got the trinket that's been causing you all the trouble."

Secret wandered away from the area when he had come into the glade. Slobo looked at her. "Do I spook the spook?"

Secret looked at him sadly as she floated further away from him. "You have the stone."

Suddenly Ivy looked over at him extremely interested. "The stone? What stone."

Slobo reached into his pocket and pulled out the black stone.

Ivy gasped, and stared at the stone astonished. El Evan, Alecks Ahnder and those others stared at the stone equally perplexed and amazed.

"The black stone of death the most powerful of all the stones created. My god it's, it's hideous." El Evan turned his eyes away from it.

"He's right that thing is making me nauseous. I can't stand to look at it." Aleks clutched his stomach.

"It frightens me." Impulse said simply. He stared at it, not able to turn away from it, quivering in fear.

Robin recoiled as well. "Man, me too, put it away Slobo."

Slobo shoved the large stone back in his pocket. The wave of anxiousness passed. Robin looked over at Bart. The color was drained from his face. He stood limply. "Bart, what else did Cassie say?"

Bart turned still somewhat struck with terror. He screamed loudly. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

The waterfalls pounded the water beneath it. The wind blew the spray towards the walls of Elhm Erawld. The spray slicked the oily blackened blood that was beginning to cake the walls and the rope netting used to scale them.

With less sure a grip the weary defenders could more easily knock the P'Orhks from the net into the waters below.

"How many more people left in the city?" Cassie turned to Ariss.

"A nice few, where going to need a lot more time. Getting everybody out through that one small tunnel isn't easy. Many P'Orhks have gone up the sides of the cliffs and roam the plateau. We have to watch to see that none is spotted. Everybody's heading for the El Fvis forest, and the El Fvis haven't made any moves to stop us, not yet anyway."

"We might not be able to hold out much longer." Cissie pointed to the far embankment which was swarming with many more P'Orhks as well as groups of other larger, more beastly creatures. "They're just waiting for the wind to change, and they'll all come our way."

"This is crazy." Cassie knelled in despair. She tried vainly to whip the black oily blood from her hands and face, managing only to smear it. She looked to Kon who was still defending the wall intensely. He was cut and battered; his superpowers had been reduced far more than hers. But still he fought on, oblivious and uncaring of the dangers that befell him, or perhaps it was because he cared so much for the dangers that befell the people. She watched him proudly as he struggled with a P'Orhk. And if he cared so much how could she do no less than him. Strength returned to her fagging limbs, as she rushed again to the wall with sword drawn.

The Young Justice gang and a group of DeWorfers prepared hurriedly to depart for the city.

El Evan stood before, the group he and his knights wear clad in their white Saatihn. "The lady has commanded that the stone city must not fall. My Knights and the host of El Fvis warriors and hunters shall fight with you."

Aleks was strapping on his thick armor. He muttered under his breath. "They must not take the plain."

El Evan interrupted. "We shall not let the city fall."

Alecks looked up warily at El Evan. "The city is doomed. Do you forget what the legends say?"

El Evan looked sadly at him.

The city green from marble weaned, with high and mighty walls.

The hero teens with magic gleaned could but watch its low and tragic fall.

El Evan stared resolutely at Aleks. "They may take the city, but on my life I swear, they shall not keep the plain."

Cissie gazed at the scene before her. The wind had finally changed and the creatures on the other side of the lake began piling into the lines of boats swarming again toward the castle. "This is it. We've had it. Do we make one last stand or do we run for it?"

Cassie looked around the mass of tired defenders at the wall. "Run for it."

"Retreat! Retreat!" Cissie called to the DeWorfers down the line. They took off running down the steps of the castle, to the other side of the city where the tunnel was.

They peaked out through the exit hole on the plain and saw a huge amount of DeWorfers gathered in the bushes nearby.

Ariss Tawtell was the last one through the hole. He pushed up several full sacks he had. Kon helped him up the hole by taking one of the large sacks. "Hey these are heavy. What the heck you got in here?" He opened the sacks and pulled out a leather bound book.

Ariss Tawtell grabbed the book and placed it back in the sack. "This is what I managed to salvage from the great library of Aleks Ahnder's. I fear it is soon to be burned and looted."

Ariss went over to an area close to the hole entrance and slammed down one of his sacks on it. In a stroke the ground over the tunnel began to collapse in upon itself. Barring its use by the P'Orhks.

"Hurry we gotta retreat back into to woods." Cass beckoned them with her arm.

Then they heard a voice shouting in the distance. "Forward. Forward to the plain."

"What the heck?" Cassie peered into the distance. Slim tall men with great tall longbows rushed out of the forest toward the plane above the city. The DeWorfer defenders who lay about on the ground exhausted stared in awe at the El Fvis warriors.

A tired injured DeWorfer slumped against a bush. His mouth fell open at the site before him. "It does not seem real but this is as the legend foretells. El Fvis fighting along side the DeWorfers."

The ragged and bloodied defender stood, his body filled with renewed energy. "Forward to the plain!" He cried and ran after the El Fvis warriors. The other DeWorfer soldiers stared at each other then sprang to their feet as well bounding onto the Plain of El Helm Arraad.

End of Part 2

"The Lord of the Stones" m


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3 "Falling City"

The combined armies of the El Fvis and the DeWorfers rushed out unto the plain. The few P'Orhks who roamed the plain began to immediately run toward the group as they emerged from the shrubs and bushes nearer the forest.

The DeWorfers lined up together, their large rectangular shields protecting them like a giant fence. A short distance behind them lined up the El Fvis archers. The archers loosed a slew of arrows in the far distance slaying many of the P'Orhks before the came even close, to the DeWorfers. The few who reached them were quickly cut down by the DeWorfers tight defensive formation. Slowly the DeWorfers marched forward. The El Fvis archers came up slowly behind them firing arrows at will at any monster that crossed their path. Soon they reached the edge of the plain. Where its high walls looked down upon the city. The city was swarming with the P'Orhks. They flooded into the city like ants. The DeWorfers looked down at the occupied city they had once owned. It seemed now that the entire P'Orhk army was inside the city. They ran though the houses carrying out what they could find. They began piling it the cliff wall that lead to the plateau above them where the El Fvis and DeWorfers were gathering.

The El Fvis fired their arrows mercilessly at the P'Orhks but to no avail for every one the felled was gathered up and likewise thrown into the pile they were building against the wall.

El Evan waved off the El Fvis archers. "Cease fire. We're just wasting our ammunition. Those evil creatures mean to get up here and this won't stop them."

Robin looked on curiously. "Hmm. El Evan, I think it might be a good idea to have as many P'Orhk bodies as possible in that pile. Bacon fat burns."

"These creatures do not burn. Often have we struck them with flaming arrows, yet it sets nothing alight."

"Oh, they'll burn you just have to add enough heat."

El Evan raised his eyebrow and called to his archers. "More bodies for the pyre."

The P'Orhks had built up a quite a huge pile against the rocks. When it towered near halfway up the side of the shear cliff face, Robin gave the signal. A volley after volley of flaming arrows was shot into the pile. But not at the bodies placed in it, but instead at the wares of the warehouses. The tables and chairs and piles of clothing that were all stacked into the pile. Slowly the fire spread. So slowly that the P'Orhks seemed not to notice it and kept piling on more fuel for the flame. But very soon fire engulfed the whole pile. The bodies began to burn, first with a horrid black smoke and then they seemed to explode into white-hot flame. In a matter of moments the pyre was so hot the DeWorfers and El Fvis above it had to stay away from the edge of the plateau to shield their faces from the heat. The flame spread outward quickly engulfing the P'Orhks nearby. Before they knew what had happened the entire city was alight with the bodies of the P'Orhks trapped in the city.

The DeWorfers yelled in victory. "Hurray we have defeated them! We may take back our city."

But the flames swelled in the city beyond all imagining.

Soon giant explosions wracked the city, sending shards of rubble to the air. As the P'Orhks perished within the great city of Elhm Erawld explosions collapsed the buildings into shards of green rubble.

The DeWorfers stared in shock and disbelief at the destruction of the labor of all their ancestors. Alecks bowed his head at the sight before him. "Our home. We have no home."

El Evan placed his hand on the DeWorfer kings shoulder. "You have our home."

Deep inside the El Fvis forest.

The gang sat seated on the ground surrounding the circular scrying pool.

It's reflective face seemed almost gray, as if lacking any color.

El Evan touched the waters of the pool. Ripples went spiraling outwards from where his hand had touched it. El Evan spoke. "The pool bids those to speak."

"If no ripple from the hand is cast.

Then no words beyond the lips go past."

"This is the great scrying pool of the greatest seer of them all, El Fvis prophet of old and keeper of the stone of light. El Aeker Alik."

Impulse looked up startled, he slammed his hand against the pool, but no ripples came forth. The crowd looked to him then looked away, to hear someone else speak.

Robin reached out to touch the pool. Thick ripples shot out from his hand quite forcefully. El Evan and the other El Fvis looked at this with Interest.

"This wizard has been quiet for thousands of years, why is suddenly making commotion now all of a sudden. We find our answer to that and we might be able to defeat him."

Everyone Ivy reached out to touch the pool the lines of the ripples she sent outward were weak and unharmonious. Her face stiffened upon seeing the pools reaction. "He is a mad lonely human male. He needs no reason to destroy."

Bart slammed his fist down into the pool forcefully but still no ripples came forth.

Anita touched the pool the ripples she sent outwards were quick and nervous. "What's the black stone all about? I can sense all around it a presence of immense evil."

Secret held out her hand and touched the water. The ripples she sent outwards were deep and smooth, a hazy golden color reflected from the colorless pool. The El Fvis turned to stare at her in wonderment.

She spoke but not in her girlish voice but in the voice of a mature woman.

"Long ago the lord of the stones created 6 stones of many colors, all save for white. He combined the shades together, and created the one stone of all colors and of none." She rose and stared at Slobo. "As for the black stone of death. None but you and he can withstand its terrible power. But beware Slobo Fraggins, least the stone corrupts you as it did corrupt him by its creation."

The group paused staring at her for a while.

Suddenly Bart slammed his head forward into the pool head butting it in frustration but still no ripples were forthcoming.

One of the El Fvis asked. "But the wizard took the black stone to his sanctuary deep within the salted wastes. How is it that it comes to be here?"

"Perhaps that is why he is attacking us, he wants the black stone returned to him." Ivy expressed.

Aleks looked over at her. "The wizard is mad how are we to judge his motives? Should we simply travel to the salted wastes and ask him if he wants his stone back?"

"It's as good an idea as any, I suppose." Slobo looked questioningly at Secret.

Secret again touched the pool. "Slobo is to venture into the salted wastes."

And so early in the morning they set out. They gathered together on the shores of the Gud El Mietee River. There were three boats. One was colored lavender gray containing Anita and Slobo. The other was a green one that contained El Evan and Aleks, and the last was a red one with Kon and Cassie on board.

Bart waved to them "Good luck Guys." He looked at Slobo sideways suspiciously. "I hope you all come back alive."

Secret approached the boat with Cassie and Kon in it. "You will need this. You will know when the time comes." Cassie looked strangely at the object she had given, a large hand mirror. "Uh yeah thanks Secret, you feeing ok, you've been acting heavy weird since we got her, your mysterious powers and everything."

Secret merely smiled and pushed the boats away from the dock with a sudden gust of wind.

The party paddled up the wide rivers slow current. For many hours, everywhere they looked to see the wild wonders of the El Eeg forest. A giant tree hung over the river. Flowers as large as pumpkins feathered out from the branches. Giant oddly shaped yet brightly colored butterflies covered the tree. Yet when they passed beneath the tree they cold see that it was not butterflies but birds with rapier like beaks, they flew away in a flurry from the tree. Decorating the sky with their colors.

Cassie breathed in deeply. "My god this place is like paradise. This and the Elhm Erawld city, is all Innbee Tweenerth like this."

El Evan smiled sadly. "Alas no, the El Fvis wild lands are the only places as yet unspoiled by the destroying hand of man."

"Long ago before the coming of the lord of the stones, before the slaying of the great dragons, the El Fvis controlled all of these lands to the south and to the east. All was wild then. And although the dragons plagued us it was because of the great dragons men feared to go near the wood."

"The great wizard traveled here to the Lake Ovfier, where all the dragons nested and cast them down into the waters forever with the magic of the red Stone of Flame."

"Wait a second, Lake Ovfier? That's where we're headed isn't it?" Kon said alarmed. Dragons means fire, and I don't like fire. I'm not invulnerable to fire."

"Like you're invulnerable to everything else," said Aleks snidely.

"As a matter of fact on my world I have more magic power then than anybody here."

"Yeah right, anybody here," Slobo laughed menacingly.

El Evan smirked. "And you just happed to have lost your powers on this world."

Kon turned away from them and paddled harder up the stream. They came to large rocky rapids.

"You'll want em back now soon Kon." Cassie pointed ahead of her. "Looks like you're going to have to be doing some heavy lifting."

They pulled to the side of the river and hoisted the thin lightweight boats onto their shoulders and portaged up the River.

Robin looked out at the smoldering ruin of the town from the plateau above.

Ariss approached behind him. "It's been burning for days. Now finally the fires are staring to die out."

Robin sighed. He looked to the P'Orhks gathered beyond the ruins on the other bank through giant cracks in the crumpling outer wall. "They'll be coming back at us soon."

Ariss smiled at him. "I wouldn't worry about that lad."

Cissie watched as one of the taller El Fvis archers stood on the bank of the plateau and fired past the burning ruins of the city. She saw the arrow descend on the far bank with what seemed impossible accuracy. The two P'Orhks were killed with one arrow pinning them together. Cissie stared at him and was instantly enamored. In the next instant an arrow struck her lightly in her butt cheek but pierced the skin nevertheless.

A young elf, shorter than the rest with a saggy main of unkempt hair ran up to her apologizing. "Oh I'm so sorry I kinda let go of the arrow by mistake."

The tall El Fvis that Cissie had been watching approached them. "Kuepidd what have you done now?" He came up to the boy giving him a harsh look.

"Hello I am Gud Luk son of Gud Fuk. Please forgive me. Kuepidd is my brother's child he wishes to be an archer as well. But he has not the strength to yet draw a string."

One of the El Fvis archers came up to the group and scolded them. "Gud Luk!" She wagged her finger at him. "What ill fortune you bring us by insisting on bringing your nephew to our training."

Gud Luk bowed slightly, "I am sorry your ladyship."

"Kuepidd is dangerous with that bow! He's as bad as those damn DeWorfer archers."

Cissie stepped boldly in front on the El Fvis woman and looked her squarely in the eye. "Hey watch your mouth about those archers, they have as much right to be here as you do."

She grabbed the short El Fvis by the shoulder. "And the same goes for Kuepidd here."

Aleks heard El Evan approach behind him as he fished by the rocky shoreline. He moaned under his breath. "Oh Geez, not him, he's so stuffy."

Aleks flicked the fly rod expertly. The tiny-feathered hook rested delicately on the surface of the water. A large fish jumped out of the water snapping the fly hook in its jaws. Aleks tugged on the line hooking the fish.

El Evan smiled impressed. "DeWorfers are known to be great fishermen but I had heard that DeWorfer fishermen used large nets to catch fish in."

"They do. But I have always favored fly-fishing. With nets one often catches fish that are too small to eat as well as other fish that that one cannot eat. The fish die needlessly. This way I can throw back any fish that I do not wish to eat. Besides I find it relaxing."

"You care that fish die needlessly? It is comforting to know that it is not the El Fvis alone that concern themselves with such matters."

"The El Fvis don't have a total monopoly on wisdom."

El Evan turned up his nose. "Hmpf."

Robin and the archers stood ready at the edge of the plateau. "Remember when they come at us take out their front line people only. We want to pile as many of them into the city as we can."

Two El Fvis runners ran up to Robin on the plane. "They've headed for the boats, they're attacking en mass. All defensive positions inside the city are being withdrawn."

Robin nodded, "Good work, now grab a bow."

The panting runner smiled. "Gladly sir."

"Here they come." Robin saw several P'Orhks coming into view below him charging through the city. "Fire at will."

Several arrows were loosed at the P'Orhks below. The ones behind the fallen P'Orhks stubbornly climbed over the bodies of their dead comrades.

Even through the hail of arrows the P'Orhk onslaught was relentless.

Robin turned to Ariss. "This really was a good idea Ariss Tawtell. You really are a genius."

One of the DeWorfers ran up to Robin. "They're about to reach the plateau wall sir."

"Initiate operation Atlantis." Robin looked sadly at the DeWorfer.

"Yes sir." The DeWorfer looked resolutely back at him.

Robin looked at the city below them as it began to rumble slowly. Several of the P'Orhks were knocked of balance as the ground shifted beneath them. Then suddenly the ground fell from beneath their feet as the entire city fell downward into the river, with a great flash of dust and mist.

"For hundreds of years we mined underneath the city to harvest the exceedingly good marble within. We dug to the point that the structure beneath the city became unstable." Ariss Tawtell looked passively at the destruction.

"From that point on we banned further mining, and reinforced the substructure of the city."

"That substructure was the only thing holding up the city, we simply destroyed certain critical sections of the substructure, which then caused the destruction of the entire substructure hence the destruction of the entire city."

Ariss gazed at the vacuum below where the DeWorfer city had stood. "Sometimes there is wisdom in our folly."

The party portaged up steep hills until they reached an area where the rivers widened. The put their boats back into the water and began paddling again. High steep walls of rock covered them on all sides.

El Evan stared up as he stoked the still water with his oar. "We travel through the great Fjord El Mietee." They gazed at the columns of rock. They stretched off to infinity above them as they paddled through the still clear blue water. "Beyond lies the Lake Ovfier."

When they had paddled to the ends of the fjords, El Evan pointed to a small out clearing, "I know a spot near those rocks where we can take shelter for the night."

The gang set a campfire on one stony bank over the now blackened lake, as clouds had covered over the moonless sky. The licks of flame from their fire danced on the surface of the black waters behind them.

Cassie stared at the surroundings dreamily. "Isn't this wonderful camping out, in such an exotic place."

Kon poked at the ground with a twig. "I dunno its kinda boring don't you think. I mean what do you guys do for fun around here, I mean you can't watch TV."

"TV?" Aleks asked.

"Never mind."

"We tell stories of the heroes and the great creator gods." Aleks piped in.

"Is there a story about dragons?" Cassie asked anxiously.

El Evan spoke up. "There is the story of the creation of the dragons."

"Oh!" said Cassie excitedly

"I don't wanna here this." Slobo said trying to brush the idea aside.

The Creation of the Dragons:

A long, long time ago, when all the lands were El Fvis forest. There came a time of draught, this draught caused a terrible fire to burn that was so ferocious it soon engulfed near half the El Fvis lands. In this time lived the great El Fvis wizard Gud Kuumbust Shen. Gud Kuumbust was a lover of the trees and the forest, as are all us El Fvis. But so incensed was Kuumbust of the burning of his homeland that he began to use dark and terrible magic. He planted a tree away from the others in the path of the approaching fire. There he sat and endured the heat as the distant great fire approached. The wind rolled toward them sending licks of flame in his and the trees direction. When the small tree he had planted caught fire. He cast a net around it. A magical net, with it he captured the flying wild fire. The great forest fire that had raged uncontrollable began to die out. Gud Kuumbust tied the net together, and dragged the flying wild fire back with him.

For many a year things past quietly, no wild fires burned, only the walking tame fires remained. When Gud Kuumbust who was most meticulous left a frog, he intended to use in a magical potion, unattended by the windowsill.

The frog looked out the window but every time he tried to jump through a magical barrier prevented his escape.

Then he heard a voice behind him. "Escape, escape I would do anything to escape."

The Frog saw a large net hanging beside him on the wall. Its end was tied with a twine of string that hung loosely over the windowsill. "Would you please pull on the string to open the net and help me escape?"

The greedy frog looked up and licked his lips. "What will you give me if I help you to escape?"

The voice from the net spoke. "I shall give you incredible size and power. You shall be the greatest beast of them all."

"What else will you give me?"

"Great magical power and near immortally."

The frog thought for a while. Then he asked. "What else can you give me?"

"All I have left is my very spirit, but I would do anything to be free of this net."

So the frog croaked, "I accept your offer." He took the end of the cord in his mouth and hopped off the ledge. The net opened and the flying wildfire escaped and became the spirit of the frog, bestowing upon it all the powers it had promised.

The window shattered open as the frog began to grow, it's jaws began to fill with teeth, from its back it sprouted wings, it flew out the window growing ever larger and more dragon like. It flew high into the mountains high over the prime El Fvis lands, and made its home right at the center of the world.

El Evan looked at the group seriously under the hazy glow of campfire light. "Right where we are now."

Kon scoffed. "Oh brother."

El Evan ignored him. "From here they could wreak havoc on all the world. Which they did for many thousands of years before the coming of the wizard."

To far lands they traveled he brung an army with full wagons.

Yet with but the red flaming stone he flung from the sky the dragons

End of Part 3

"The Lord of the Stones" m


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4 "The Dice of Life"

They paddled into another rocky Fjord covered on all sides by high cliff walls. Slobo saw huge ugly fish with large teeth swim past in the water. He stared at it somewhat admiringly. Then without warning brought his paddle down on it hard pulverizing the fish.

He looked toward the water regretfully. "Oh no the poor fishy."

Anita stared at him shocked. "What the hell are you doing Slobo? That wasn't funny."

"Didn't mean the poor fishes no harm. The poor, poor fishes." He crawled miserably in the bottom of the boat. "We likes fishes, nice fishes. Gullum, gullum."

Slobo clenched his fists together angrily. "No, no Slobo Fraggins. We hates it. We hates it forever."

Anita looked behind her to Slobo. "Are you ok, cause you're like totally wigging out over a fish."

Slobo looked up nonchalantly. "Had you going there didn't I."

Anita gave him a piercing look.

Slobo turned his gaze away from her.

Cissie strode over the large rocks making a path over a small stream. "This place is so different from our world, such a oneness with nature."

Gud Luk followed behind her stepping deftly on the rocks. "Yes the El Fvis have in our blood heritage an empathy with both the plants and animals of the world. With me this gift is especially strong."

He grabbed her by the elbow and motioned to a group of trees on the horizon. "Come on, if you don't want to get wet."

Gud Luk began to run, Cissie followed shortly behind him.

Gud Luk and Cissie reached the sheltered cover of tall trees, in the next moment and without any warning a tremendous downpour began. Cissie stared out at the deluge from the under the thick canopy. "Wow that was amazing." Cissie turned to face Gud Luk. "How did you know…"

But he was already traveling deeper into the forest.

Cissie followed Gud Luk along his path. Various creatures could be seen scuttling about in the trees. "In these woods much good hunting can be done."

"Hunting." Cissie said mortified. "But I thought you just said you had empathy with the animals?"

"Yes, thus it pains me when my arrow does not strike true and my prey does not die swiftly."

"But doesn't the mere fact of killing them bother you. Don't you feel kind of guilty?"

"Is the hawk bothered when it ensnares a rabbit in its talons? Does the spider feel guilty when it coils its prey in its web? Life lives on life, that is the way of life. It is not for El Fvis or Man to judge such things."

Gud Luk looked to small clearing of light shortly ahead of them. "Beyond lies the great orchard."

"Orchard? I thought the El Fvis didn't farm."

"We do not farm as humans do. We plant our fruit trees among the other plants of the forest." The entered the clearing to look up at a gigantic tree. It towered twice the size of the other trees of the forest. Its branches were heavily laden with fruit.

Bart stood in front of the pool, in the white El Fvis robe. He tapped repeatedly at the pool trying to cause it ripple. "C'mon, c'mon."

Cissie noticed him as she passed. "Give it up Bart. The pool obviously doesn't want to listen to you."

Bart approached Cissie his shoulders hunched over disappointed, he was waving a sheet is his hand. "I just don't get it Cissie. The pool used to belong to my character."

"What character Impulse?"

"The Elvin druid Aeker Alik." He showed her the sheet. "See I have an 18 wisdom."

"Don't you think that should be I.Q. Geez, Bart I think you're taking this too seriously, I mean when you first started role-playing with your friends I thought it was ya know healthy to be interacting with other people instead of playing video games all the time. But you've become like totally obsessed."

"I am not obsessed." He jerked his hand abruptly upward in protest. And the small round green die he had in his hand was flung upwards. It plunked into the pool behind him.

Bart stared at the pool in horror. "Oh no! My Dice! What will I do without my dice?"

"Die Bart."

"Probably."

"No when it's singular it's pronounced die, Geez Bart and you say your not obsessed." Cissie turned and wandered off.

Bart looked at the pool his die had fallen into and groaned.

The DeWorfers and the El Fvis fired arrows from the top of the hill. The El Fvis arches with their longbows, when the wind was proper could fire arrows all the way to the bank of the lake where the P'Orhks where gathered. The DeWorfers kept to shooting at practice targets rather then loosing their arrows needlessly in the lake below.

One of the El Fvis came up behind them. "What you're doing is well intentioned but nonproductive. When the real shorting starts you'll just be in the way." He turned from them and walked back toward the cliff.

Cissie called out to him. "Hey you could take some subtlety lessons from my mom."

She looked to the small but determined DeWorfers. If they were able to use longbows like the El Fvis they too could hit the far away targets.

"Hmm…" she thought. "Toelkeen!" She called out.

A DeWorfer approached her.

"Do you think you can build a giant Crossbow, one that you could put really large shafts into. Technically they would travel a much greater, distance."

"You mean like a ships harpoon!" His face brightened. "We'll get on it right away."

Cissie rounded the corner of the path where she saw Bart sitting cross-legged under a tree. Above the tree Bart had posted his character sheet. It exclaimed: the Seer and Prophet. The Wise Aeker Bart Alik.

A group of people both El Fvis and DeWorfer were gathered reverently around him. Bart listened as one of them asked his advise. "…And I'm wondering well should I leave my wife for my mistress."

Bart rolled a yellow die and looked up at the DeWorfer who had questioned him. "Yes, absolutely yes. Do it right now and happiness will be yours."

The DeWorfer looked up determined, and then ran out as fast as he could.

Cissie burst in among them. "Bart have you gone nuts? What kind of advice are you giving people?"

"Great advice. The die don't lie Cissie." Bart gathered up the dice in his hand.

Bart smiled up at her. "It all makes sense now Cissie. I am my character."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I went to reach my hands into the pool to get my dice and suddenly a lady's hand rose up of the pool. The lady of the pool, held aloft Eks Kaalibber."

He held up the yellow stone and said, " I bestow upon thee, Bart, the yellow stone of light, you are one of the eight one whom I chose to be the vessel of my prophesy and the keeper of my promise, I dub thee the Wise Aeker Bart Alik bearer of the yellow stone of light."

Cissie looked to him incredulously. "Bart, are you insane? You're living in a fantasy world."

Bart smiled gleefully. "Yeah I know. Isn't it great?"

The gang paddled their boats through the narrow fjord walls. El Evan and Aleks paddled ahead.

"This is the twisting and treacherous Fjord of the Rings. Be wary I'll heard recent tales of terrible water beasts from these parts." El Evan cautioned.

Cass smiled. "Don't worry well keep a…"

A huge set of crocodile like jaws burst out of the water just before Cassie. "Look out!"

An arrow was fired through the snout of the huge crocodile like fish. The jaws of the creature snapped together just short of Cassie. The arrow protruding through the roof of its mouth jammed through its lower jaw pinning its mouth shut. Cassie withdrew her sword and brought it down hard on the creature cleaving its skull. Black blood spilled forth from it as it slowly sank beneath the waters surface. The gang stared at the black oily blood as it floated on the surface of the water.

Suddenly 3 more of the giant fish creatures burst out of the water. One knocked over the boat with Slobo and Anita in it. Cassie utterly prepared now managed to spear it through the top of its head with her sword before it was able to torn its attentions lose on Anita and Slobo.

Aleks standing firmly in the boat, unleashed his small metal ball on a rather small thin chain, attached to the pole. Like a flycatcher casting his rod he expertly flicked the ball hard into one of the small black eyes of the creature. The ball pierced the soft tissue around the eye, driving deeply into its skull, and the creature fell into the water dead. The last one came at Kon. With a swing of great power if not much finesse Kon cleaved deeply into the jaws of the creature with his sword. He struggled to free his sword from the maw of the blindly attacking monster. Cassie's sword came down from behind him it cleaved cleanly through the creatures head. Its body sunk beneath the waters while Kon flopped down inside the boat, his sword still lodged in the creature's head.

Kon stared at the head curiously. "For a minute there I thought we were in trouble."

Then a giant reptilian creature stood rising up from the water.

"I'm telling you Robin he's flipped." Cissie lead Robin and Secret along a path.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad Cissie. You're making him out to be some kind of sinister cult leader." Robin stared puzzled as they entered the grove.

"All right everybody line up to get your cool aid." Bart hand out small glasses.

"Bart, what the hell is this?" Robin faced him angrily.

"Oh hi Rob. Sure is hot out. Want some cool aid?" Bart handed him a glass filled with a colored liquid. "It's an El Fvis drink, honey sweetened."

Robin looked at the drink skeptically. "I'll pass thanks. Cissie told me what you've been up to. She told me that you told a man you didn't know to leave his wife. Why are you doing this?"

"Everybody be happier this way. The dice said so."

"The dice said so?"

"Yeah, it's magic."

"Bart, you have no magic, Secret said so remember?"

"Robin…" Secret interrupted.

"You're Bart Allen not this Bart Alik or whatever it is you call yourself."

"Robin…"

"That die is not magic. That man will not end up happy."

"Robin…"

Suddenly a man approached Bart. "Oh Wise Aeker Bart Alik, I have done as you advised and couldn't be more happy. It turns out my wife is having an affair with my scoundrel of a brother."

"Huh?" Robin looked on confused.

Secret stepped forward. "Robin his die is magic."

"But… I though you said."

"Yes Bart has no magic power but the die and the meaning he interprets from them is magical and 100 percent true."

A DeWorfer sat before Bart. "Well my parents wish me to be a carpenter but it is not…"

Impulse rolled the die. "A carpet layer there's nothing wrong with that. That's what you should be."

The DeWorfer looked at him confused. "A carpet layer? What is a carpet?"

"You know, it's like a big rug that covers the whole room."

"Rugs?" He smiled. "Thank you for the path you set me on wise Aeker for I did not wish to be a carpenter but instead like to work with fabrics and cloth."

Secret looked to Bart. "100 percent true even when he doesn't understand the question being asked of him."

From the branches of one of the bountiful giant trees in the El Fvis orchard, Cissie sat bow in hand flinging arrows at a small dead piece of weathered wood at the top of the stream. "He loves, he loves me not."

"He loves me." She missed the piece of driftwood which had several arrows embedded in it already. Her arrow instead plinked off a rock, and landed in the small stream.

Cissie stared exasperated.

She climbed down, and approached the area where she hand been shooting her arrows.

She reached into the stream where her arrow hand landed, and pulled out a small sparkling blue stone. "Omigod."

Flame spurted from the nostrils of the reptilian creature. It loomed over the boats. "Dive!" shouted Cassie. She lunged into the water throwing herself overboard.

Aleks lost his balance at the sight of the creature and fell overboard. El Evan pulled back his bowstring, preparing to shoot, and was not prepared for the rocking of the boat, he too went clumsily overboard.

The beast flung a flurry of flames from its gullet down upon the boats where they had been.

Anita surfaced on the water. She looked up into the gaping maw of the huge wingless dragon lizard. "Oh, oh we're toast."

"No it's toast. I'll have it for breakfast." Slobo swam up close to the chest large creature. He was puny in comparison to the large beast.

He pressed his hand against the chest of the creature. A shadowy gray blackness emerged from Slobo's hand. The blackness reached out to envelope the creature, until there was nothing. It was absorbed completely into the blackness.

A small triangular shaped red stone fell from where the creature had stood.

It fell in front of Cassie who managed to catch it before it fell in the water.

"Slobo you killed it." She exclaimed.

He turned to look at them. His face twisted into a hateful glare. "Yes. Kill. Kill." He raised his hands to them the blackness lingered about them.

Anita yelled. "Slobo honey, you're flying over the Coo Coo's nest again."

"I was…" he said suddenly very tired, "I was just, just joking." His eyes rolled into the back of his head it slumped back underneath the waters.

Anita dove in to catch him.

Cissie approached Bart causally. "Bart, Bart Alik or what ever you call yourself these days."

"Yeah Cissie? You seek advice. On the blue stone perhaps."

Cissie's eyes widened. "How did you know about the blue stone? No never mind that. What do you know about the blue stone? I need an explanation."

"You have the Eks Plaa Naeshen Cissie."

"Huh?" Cissie looked at him puzzled.

"That's the El Fvis name for the stone you got. What you want is a story to explain the Eks Plaa Naeshen."

The Story of El Niinyoe.

All the creatures of the sea feared the great water beasts. Without warning the giant water beasts would rise up out of the water to bring its jaws down upon the vessels of the sea, like giant waves collapsing on top of them, it would swallow them hole.

With the water beasts gone the greatest dangers that prowled the oceans were the sea wolves. The sea wolves, they would hunt in large packs using their enormous bodies to try push and lead ships into rocky shoals, piercing their hulls and causing them to swiftly sink beneath the waves, leaving the sailors at the mercy of the sea wolves sharp teeth.

Into this fray came the sharp-eyed el Fvis archer El Niinyoe. One day while traveling by sea, as El Niinyoe was a wandering El Fvis unlike most, who choose to remain in the forests. The sea wolves attacked the ship. The sea wolves' heads stormed out of the water. One opened its huge canine jaws, its furless skin stretching back into a snarl, headlining its sleek seal like features. It slithered up to them like a ferret with fins. El Niinyoe the most famous and skilled archer in all of Innbee Tweenerth unleashed a volley of arrows killing the entire pack. Even to the last of them they attacked, uncaring of the futile odds.

From that day El Niinyoe roamed the DeWorfer seas, devoting himself to the cause of protecting the ships against the monsters.

But the sea wolves were greatly displeased by this, and they banded together into larger groups and raided the wharfs and coastline. El Niinyoe was only one bow, but he had a vision of many large bows stretching from the DeWorfer ships.

He outfitted each boat with harpoons and when the sea wolves made their next raid. El Niinyoe and the fleet were ready for them.

The harpoons made short work of the sea wolves, every one of whose number died attacking.

From that day forward armed with the harpoon, the sea wolves never again threatened the DeWorfers.

And as a token of the appreciation of the feats of El Niinyoe he was given the blue stone, which had fallen into DeWorfer keeping.

A thunderous barbarian on horseback approached Slobo. On his mount he carried many swords, a large spiked ball and chain was sung from his back.

"Hey get up ya sissy batstich, ya got work to do."

"Huh." Slobo stared at the shadowed but well-defined muscular figure. "Who are you?"

"I'm the batstich who laughs in deaths face. You're in deep this time kid, you're going to need me to get through this." He gestured to a vast desolate salt plane before them. On all sides the horizon stretched off into infinity. "We're in this together kid. Just you and me."

Slobo he heard a voice call behind him.

He turned to see a female figure running toward him on the horizon.

"Ignore her kid. She can't help you out here. We're alone, there's just us."

Slobo could make out the form of Anita approaching on the horizon. "Just the two of us eh? How come you're still here?"

"Geez, Slobo. You don't think we we're going to leave you to drown." Anita smiled above him. Her turned and saw that he and the rest of the group were on the edge of an embankment at the fjords end.

Kon stared down at him. "Even though you have terribly destructive powers, which you brandished at us yelling kill, kill." He offered Slobo his hand to help him up.

"Oh… oh, that." Slobo stood up. He saw that they had reached the end of the winding fjord. A small twisting river would have flowed from the falls from where they stood to the valley could see stretched out below them. Instead the water was being carted away beyond in a gigantic salt aqueduct that stretched away over the horizon. Its weight born my monumental columns of salt that stretched up from the valley below them.

El Evan looked at them apologetically. "The way is not as I had anticipated, as I'm sure you can tell."

El Evan stared into the dry ruined valley. "The path that I know followed the river."

Aleks examined several scrolled papers before him. "My maps too say that the river takes us near the gates to the salt lands."

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. "Ok we'll take the dry riverbed then. We don't have much choice, we only got one boat left."

"I ain't going with ya." Slobo started walking away from them.

"Slobo!" Cassie called after him.

"The further you guys are away from me, the better off you are." He headed toward the boat by the salt aqueduct.

He turned to face them. "I, well you know, I really l… like… I think you guys ain't so bad."

Slobo got inside and immediately started paddling off and was quickly propelled away from them.

Kon watched the boat drift away. "Now that was a heartfelt goodbye."

"Slobo you're not thinking strait about this. Wait for me." Anita ran after him but he was beyond the rocks along the salt aqueduct. She didn't stop running, she ran atop the edge of the 6 inches wide aqueduct. Very quickly the distance between herself and the ground lengthened until she was running along the edge of a very high precipice. "Slobo!" She called quickening her pace.

Slobo turned to see her running along the edge of the aqueduct. "Ah Geez babe." He grabbed the edge of the salt bank and slowed his boat. "Ya got guts babe I'll give ya that. And I ain't talking about the height." He looked at her tearfully

Anita hopped from the high ledge to the boat. "You're not going to go all sissy on me now are you."

"Guts and stupidity, although sometimes I wonder if they ain't the same thing."

End of Part 4

"The Lord of the Stones" m


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5 "Assault on a Salt Bunker"

The next morning there was a good deal of commotion among the archers on the cliff. The DeWorfers had carried a couple of large items up the hill. They where covered over in large rain canvas. A group of El Fvis were firing shots at the bank, but looked behind them constantly to see what the DeWorfers were up to.

The DeWorfers were muttering among themselves. "Is what they say true? Here comes the fair maiden Cissie now."

One of the DeWorfers approached Cissie. "Mistress Cissie, word is that you have become a stone bearer."

Cissie removed the blue stone, which she hung in a fine thin net, on the end of a chain under her shirt.

The DeWorfers clapped and jumped for joy. "The stone of El Niinyoe the great El Fvis hero of the DeWorfer people."

Cissie smiled. "Toelkeen told me you've got something to show me."

They approached an area on the cliff. A canvas covered several large contraptions.

Several DeWorfers removed the canvas to reveal harpoon launchers with giant harpoons sticking out the end of them.

Cissie shouted to the El Fvis archers firing over the cliff in front of them. "Move it or loose it."

The El Fvis looked behind them and reluctantly made way for the strange contraption.

"Let her rip." She commanded.

Toelkeen flicked a handle on the launcher and the harpoon sprang forward with tremendous velocity. The harpoon descended skewering a P'Orhk far below them.

The DeWorfers raised their hands in triumph.

Gud Luk approached them from where he was shooting. He winked at Cissie. "Good thinking." Then he went again to the edge of the cliff face.

Gud Luk shot his bow at them with relentless precision. Cissie fired along with him but safely kept to nearer safer targets.

She slowed her onslaught as she looked towards him dreamily.

He was handsome, lithe, refined, delightfully exotic but most important of all he could shoot. Damn but he could shoot.

The DeWorfers brought forth more launchers. They fired their large harpoons at the P'Orhks skewering several of them.

Robin strayed into the large encampment of DeWorfers. "We've had complaints people. When the El Fvis agreed to let you stay here they said that you had to respect their laws. And that includes no domestic animals. And I hear someone here has a chicken."

A short DeWorfer held his hat innocently in front of him. "Chicken? No, no sir. I have seen any chickens around here."

There was a large squawking noise from behind him. "Buk-bekaw."

Robin raised his eyebrow. "No chicken eh?"

The chicken wandered out in front of the man. "No sir. It's more of a hen, oh please sir I can't bear to get rid of her. She's my pet."

He looked to a pile of eggshells on a plate. "You eat the eggs of your pet?"

"It's how she shows her love for me."

"I don't believe this." Robin raised his arms exasperation.

Oh please sir. If they make me turn her free, well, she's not used to fending for herself, she'll die."

"Hmm…" Robin looked toward the small chicken.

The gang wandered down into the low valley. The ground below them dropped sharply and jaggedly. They walked in the road of stone left by the dried up river. They were surrounded on all sides by gray and twisted leafless branches of the lifeless trees.

El Evan looked upon it disgusted. He spoke to Cass. "You asked if all the places in Innbee Tweenerth were beautiful, do you have your answer."

"Men…" He hung of his head. "They will be the ruin of the earth. They have no respect for it."

Cassie looked the steep mountain walls above them on either side. "Echo!" she shouted. "Hmm. That's interesting no Echo."

"Hello! Here I am." A figure darted out from the dead underbrush along the edge of the riverbed.

The gang stared as an extremely gorgeous young woman, with soft slightly pointed ears and light and sparkling hair, approached them, completely without modesty in the nude. She smiled joyfully. "Someone has beckoned me, after so, so long."

Kon smiled broadly, he waved his hand in the air. "That would be me over here."

"Thousands of years I have waited here, banished by Hera from earth. Cursed not to utter a single word until someone called my name."

"What?" Kon, Aleks, and El Evan looked quizzically at her.

Cassie steeped in font of the nude girl. "Ok this one I know, but before we start. Echo as a fellow traveler to Olympus, I'd like to give you this dress of mine, as, you know, a sign of friendship and respect." Cassie handed her the white gown given to her by the El Fvis from her knapsack.

She smiled broadly looking over at a disappointed Kon as the nymph accepted and donned the gown.

Cassie began. "This tale takes place long ago on earth in ancient Greece. It concerns the two great gods of Olympus queen Hera and her husband Zeus. Now I know you supposed to be faithful to a god but for a god Zeus wasn't exactly faithful. He used to come down to earth to seduce lovely nymphs all the time."

"Way to go Zeus!" Kon shouted.

Cassie gave him a withering look. "So anyway Zeus conspired with Echo here, whenever he was off seducing a nymph he would get Echo to distract Hera, his wife, by gossiping with her."

Cassie looked to Echo. "Until Hera finally caught on and cursed Echo but it was to repeating the last words spoken by a person."

Kon thought for a moment. "You mean like an echo? That's why an echo is called an echo?"

"You catch on fast Sherlock."

"I wonder if I'm making a mistake by having the DeWorfers and El Fvis get together like this." Robin sat at the end on a long table filled with plates of food.

Cissie leaned over the table. "No Robin this communal banquet that we're having in a great place for the DeWorfers and El Fvis to get to know each other and overcome their differences."

One of the DeWorfers spoke loudly at the other end of the table "They think we all come from seeds. Can you believe it from seeds. Ha. It is no wonder the El Fvis are such seedy characters."

"What did you say DeWorfer? Did you dare to blaspheme the great creator gods?" The El Fvis came forward toward the DeWorfer.

The DeWorfer stormed up to greet him. "Me blaspheme? I'm not the person who thinks the races were brought forth from plants from the ground, when we all know the great creator god carved them from stone."

The El Fvis stood before the DeWorfer insulted. "Why you savage heathen DeWorfer."

"Heathen?" The DeWorfer stared back at him as though amazed and amused by what he was hearing. "I'm not the one bound to one of the seven hells of the unworthy."

The El Fvis became enraged, he cursed. "By all that's holy…"

"War." Shouted an El Fvis who came suddenly running into the banquet area. "They mass on the shore, ready to attack as before, now their equipments are much larger and heavier, and there are more new P'Orhks all the time."

The pair looked grudgingly at each other and headed off with the others to the front.

The sun was setting over the horizon.

Robin peered at the scene below him. A large allotment of fresh P'Orhks had arrived and they set about erecting an extremely large camp enlarging 3 times the previous camp size. They did this even though most of the former army's soldiers perished in the previous battles.

"They're setting up shop and are going to be bringing in a lot bigger army then before. It's just going to be a matter of time now." He looked down to see a large projectile being flung his way.

"Scatter!" An El Fvis said calmly. Robin and the El Fvis moved out of the area the boulder was approaching. It missed smashing into the cliff wall below them.

The P'Orhks fired small boulders toward the top of the cliff with gigantic catapults they had erected. They fired these relentlessly now at the El Fvis archers picking off their workmen below.

The boulders came at them so slowly and inaccurately that they rarely bothered them but occasionally they would have to stop their activities to dodge of these boulders.

Cissie turned to Toelkeen. She pointed to the group of arrows scattered on the ground. "Gather those together and tie them up so we can use them again."

"What am I supposed to tie them all up with?"

"Here use this." She handed him a small piece of twine.

Toelkeen held the twine up in the air and examined it disbelievingly. "One sting! Fools they're all. I want you to remind them. One string to cling them all together and in the darkness, no less, bind them."

Echo extended her hand before them and looked at the group sarcastically. "Do you see now why you can't attack the great wizard's lands by going through it's guarded Iron gates?"

They looked at the large swing door that led up to the salt plane. Many great polar bear like salt beasts guarded it.

Kon looked at it and whistled. "That place and our luck is built like the fort of hard knocks."

"We need not pass through the gates." Echo stated.

"Well I can't go over them? Can you?" Kon dared her.

Echo pulled a black cloth from her hand.

Kon stared at her confused. "Yeah, I think I have that one in my old magic kit of fifty amazing magic tricks."

She unfolded the black cloth on the ground. It became a giant hole.

She entered into the hole.

Cassie waved her sword before her as she stepped into the hole. "Hmm… Looks like were crusading into the holey land." The rest followed closely behind her.

Kon waved his sword menacingly as he went down the hole. "We'll get dat wascally wizard."

Gud Luk took Cissie by the hand and led her into the glade. She saw a strange orchard of tall thick trees, each variety and species scattered randomly about one another but all of them tall with large trunks. She noticed that their bark was painted over with large pictures that spiraled up the length of the trees. A staircase of vines and twigs curled up them.

"Shall we take a walk through the Garden of Legends?"

"I'd love to." Cissie followed him up the steps spiraling around the tree. At each few steps one could, if one was a certain height, be able to stare strait at the trunk of the tree and see a single picture as if painted at a gallery at a museum.

Gud Luk gazed with admiration at the picture of a man with a sword raised above his head on a reared horse. "These pictures tell the legends men and of the gods."

Cissie stared at them. "But it leaves a lot open to interpretation there's no words."

Gud Luk smiled at her. "No, there are no words to get in the way of the interpretation of the legend."

"I dunno. It leaves so much up to the imagination."

He smiled at her. "Words total are a total abstraction. They do not covey what is there. Do you not feel moved being here staring at the art of the sacred scrolls?"

She sighed gushing at him. "Oh I feel terribly moved."

The gang crawled through the dark, often times climbing on their hands and knees because of the upward slope.

Kon sighed. "Oh man how long does this go on, I'm getting carved tunnel syndrome."

Light poured in ahead of them. "We're here now." Echo stated bluntly. They exited on the side of the mountain just above the salt plane.

"Good Lord." Cassie looked out the side of sloping mountaintop they were on.

Below them was a large compound. A large rectangular wall surrounded the compound. It contained many rectangular buildings made from block cut from the salt the entire plane of ground seemed to me made of.

There were several smaller P'Orhks here but none of the larger warriors they had seen before. As well they could see what looked to be DeWorfers. They were stockier however and wore thick hairy beards. They were all chained together by the ankle. A group of them carted huge buckets of blackish coal into the nearby building with thick black smoke rising out of one of the stacks.

Kon peered at the building. "It looks like a concentration camp."

Cassie pointed at the chained laborers. "Who are those people down there are they DeWorfers too?"

Aleks answered. "No, they are distant cousins, DeOrrifissers. While we left the mountains to live by the waters they stayed mining the mountains, digging deep holes within the earth."

Toelkeen of the Howbritt clan had come into the glade with Cissie. He had brought a small notebook along as he wandered though the paintings on the trees.

So engrosses was he in the artwork that he didn't notice a shorter El Fvis sitting on the steps looking at the painting and sketching on a small pad. He looked up surprised to see the DeWorfer. "A DeWorfer comes to the garden of legends?"

"Lets just saw I was interested," Toelkeen jotted notes down on a small pad.

At this the El Fvis seemed to take a genuine interest. "What are you drawing?"

"Nothing. I'm writing, I'm writing about what I see here. I think it's important for our people to know about them."

The El Fvis smiled and opened his sketchpad to a scene filled with DeWorfers.

Toelkeen the DeWorfer opened his eyes in instant recognition "That is from one of our legends of old."

The DeWorfer raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

The El Fvis smiled. "Lets just say I was interested."

They snuck up behind the group of P'Orhks who had gone on patrol just outside the grounds of the encampment.

Cassie held the red stone in front of her. She concentrated deeply. She waved her hand containing the stone again at the P'Orhks. Again nothing occurred.

"Want me to give it a try." Kon held out his palm.

"It wouldn't work for you. You're vulnerable to fire remember."

"And everything else, and don't remind me."

She waved the stone again futilely.

Kon intruded again. "Sure you don't want me to give it a whirl."

Cassie stared at him her eyes enflamed. She roared. "No. " Flame spurted from her mouth.

Cassie smiled as she got up from hiding to face the P'Orhks. She opened her jaws wide. And smothered them in searing white-hot flame, instantly setting their oily bodies alight.

"Guess we're going to have to start calling you hot lips." Kon stared at the flaming P'Orhk bodies

"Like you'd ever know." She said softly under her breath.

"Now all we have to do is put on this armor and pretend to be P'Orhks and we can march right in there."

"You mean you wanna pretend to be storm troopers to get to the detention level." Kon shook his head. "I dunno Cass that idea might belong in the trash compactor."

They quickly dressed in the metal armor with full helms left by the pork guard patrol.

"C'mon." She said going down the bank toward the guarded gates.

Robin noticed in tremendous increase in tensions of late. "The religious differences between the DeWorfers and the El Fvis are becoming more of a problem every day." He thought as he stared across to the area where an El Fvis trial took place.

The accused DeWorfer sat silently, a group of El Fvis surrounded him sitting around him in a circle. One of the El Fvis paced in front of the DeWorfer.

"This man has broken the El Fvis laws in flagrant disregard wile under our hospitality. He has kept a domesticated animal in our forest. It is clearly shown in the scrolls that only wild animals should remain in the forest. All DeWorfers were warned as such."

Another El Fvis rose and spoke. "The DeWorfers actions are like that of men. It is man who seeks to tame all the creatures of the land. All animals born in captivity are born slaves."

"But she doesn't know how to look after herself she'll die, if I let her go loose. You El Fvis are supposed to have empathy with the living creatures, can you look at her and want to condemn her to death."

"You eat the eggs of this creature do you not?"

"Figure somebody might as well."

A group of DeWorfers sat angrily around a table outside the area where the trial took place. One pounded on it violently with his fist. "This is so unfair he didn't do anything wrong."

"According to El Fvis law he did." Robin intoned.

"If a law is unjust and based on heresy like the El Fvis laws they should be broken." The DeWorfer shouted angrily.

"So what do you plan on doing then, run wild rioting if the verdict doesn't go your way?"

"Yeah! Yeah that's a good idea. We'll show those El Fvis." He slammed his fist down on the table harder. "Who's with me?"

"Please people. Violence isn't the answer. Besides you still have a common enemy who is massing forces, getting ready to attack both of you.'

"Well what would you suggest?" Another DeWorfer asked Robin.

"I suggest you stand by the ruling whatever it is."

The DeWorfers looked at Robin and groaned.

There was a heavy knocking on the gates in front of him. The P'Orhkish guard pulled back a small slit so he could see through the door. "P'Uswad what are you doing back from patrol so early."

A helmed P'Orhk looked back at him. "I forgot something."

"You forgot something? What did you forget?"

"Uh, my keys."

"But you do not have any keys, I alone control the gates."

"Uh, I mean my wallet."

"Your wallet?" The P'Orhk pressed his face to the slit. "How do I know that you are really P'Uswad?"

"I guess you'll have to take my word for it seeing as how I left all my ID in my wallet. If you open the gates you will be able to see that I am P'Uswad".

Without thinking the guard swung the gate open.

Before him were 6 P'Orhks dressed in full-face armor.

Kon removed his P'Orhkish helm.

"But, but you are not P'Uswad!" The guard grabbed for the short sword at his belt.

Kon skewered him with his sword. "No you are."

He reached down off his belt and removed the set of keys.

From the aqueduct Slobo and Anita stared out at the enormous elevation they were at. Impossibly the water seemed to be running uphill toward the mountains they were headed towards. The mountains menaced them with their jagged teeth.

Slobo and Anita paddled along with the current up the salt aqueduct.

Slobo looked at the ground far below him. "Ah that's what I like to see nice bleak barren landscape."

Anita looked around. "You like this? Yeah I guess its kinda cool in a creepy short of way."

"You just remember to stay behind me babe."

"Why do you want me to stay behind you?"

"Because there's probably evil creatures around these parts that would want to tear you apart the moment they saw you and I want to protect you from em is all."

Anita glanced skeptically toward him.

End of Part 5

"The Lord of the Stones" m


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6 "Holy Comics"

Dressed in P'Orhkish armor the gang entered through the gate and climbed the stairs to the top of the wall. There a small footpath was carved into the roof of the wall surrounding the perimeter.

From his vantage point they could see several P'Orhks patrolling the top of the wall. El Evan drew out his bow, and felled every one of them with a silent arrows shaft. He waited patrolling the wall as the others snuck inside the main compound. "That big building that's where there holding them all I guess, it's the most heavily guarded."

Kon folded Aleks hands behind his back. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be Chewbacca. "

The gang approached the guards at the door to the compound. Aleks was carted before them his P'Orhkish armor removed. "Uh prisoner transfer from sector 7 g."

The guard moved sleepily out of his way as Kon rushed past him with the keys to the compound door. He quickly tried several of the keys before coming across the proper one. He opened the door wide breaking the key off in the lock.

Aleks used this opportunity to free himself from his bonds.

He dropped the spiked ball in his hands and the chain he had coiled around his wrist spiraled off beneath him.

The P'Orhk who had been at the door came forward to attack him.

Aleks swung his ball and chain striking the P'Orhk firmly in the chin, slamming his entire face backwards.

El Evan loosed several arrows from the top of the wall felling as many of the P'Orhks as he could.

Cassie used her sword with deft skill, walking through the P'Orhks cutting them down where they stood. Soon all the small number of guards that guarded the compound lay sprawled before them dead.

Bart sat cross-legged under the tree near the scrying pool. The people were gathered around him and he delivered sage wisdom unto them, as was his custom lately. "The sky is up in the sky."

He thought for a moment. "Unless you were talking about the sky on the other side of the world, then the sky is down in the sky. Well not from the point of view of the people on the other side of the world, to them the sky would be right side up inside of upsidedown."

He nodded sagely.

A DeWorfer and short El Fvis came before Impulse. "Oh Wise Aeker."

"I am Toelkeen of the Howbritt clan and this is my friend El Dalee son of El Salvador. We have a problem."

El Dalee spoke. "There has been much fighting lately over the legends and the stories of the gods."

Toelkeen continued. "We felt that everybody should be able to hear the legends but…"

El Dalee continued. "The El Fvis put their stories on fine tapestries painted on the bark of the trees in the Garden of Legends."

"And the DeWorfers put all their sacred writings on the slates." Toelkeen added.

"C'mon guys! Your solution is simple. All you have to do is put the words and the pictures together. You just need to make a comic book."

"A comic book?" They stared at him confused.

"Yeah sure." He grabbed El Dalee's detailed sketchpad, and drew over it. "See you just need to put in panels and speech balloons."

Cassie opened the door to the compound. Inside it was completely black.

Cassie held the stone of fire up in her hand and the light it gave off shone over the darkened staircase. They crept down the staircase. A smashing sound could be heard coming from below them.

Cassie cautioned. "Now everybody be careful there might be a terrible beast in here."

They turned a corner to see huge cavernous rooms carved out of the thick layer of salt. Inside, banked on all sides and underneath by the salt, were large pools. Cassie held the stone over one of the pools. Swimming inside were large odd fish like creatures. Growing out of the salt of the pool were giant plants that the fish like creatures fed upon. "Hmm, think they get enough salt in their diet?"

"That's about the only thing that's going to get assaulted. This place is dead there's obviously nothing in here." Kon leaned over the edge of the pool.

Echo approached the brown muddy ball atop a platform in the middle of the pool. She reached out to touch the brown muddy mass. "This sort of magic, this I know." She reached out to it with her hands. Slowly deliberately the ball wound itself to her.

Kon looked around the dark and silent cavern. He waved his hand in the empty air. "I don't see any terrible beast, looks like somebody's been crying wolf."

The light shone on a huge wolf, which gazed at them, its teeth bared, its body coiled, poised and ready to strike. El Evan sent an arrow its maw. It smashed it away effortlessly. The wolf went to pounce on Kon, Cassie jumped the long distance toward him grabbing him and pulling him out of the way.

El Evan sent another two arrows toward it, which it again defected away.

Alex crept away from the giant wolf looking for something in the room that could be an advantage against such an enormous beast. He spotted on the wall a set of keys. He picked them off the wall, as he did so he noticed a set of DeOrrifisser hands protruding from a hidden cell. He approached the cell seeing many DeOrrifisser behind bars.

Aleks hurriedly unlocked the gate. "Hi my name is Aleks. I'm here to rescue you."

An older DeOrrifisser looked to a young beautiful DeOrrifisser female, which looked very similar to the DeWorfer female. "Look Princess Laeyaa. He's here to rescue us."

The wolf attacked both Cass and Kon.

Cass held the red stone in her hand as she used her arms to protect her face instinctively. The wolf blew a tremendous cloud of air at her. She and Kon were flattened to the ground. A tiny spark of flame flew from the stone in her hand into the maw of the wolf as it inhaled deadly. Its lungs stretched outwards. In the next instant it was blown apart from the inside as the compressed air inside its lungs ignited.

Cassie limply rolled off Kon whom she had been pressed into. A sparkling clear stone fell from the air, among the bits of exploded wolf parts. It landed flatly on Kon's chest.

Cassie gasped for air as she tried to push herself to her feet. "Oh Geez, Kon are you ok?"

Cassie looked up from where she was over at Kon. "What's that's piece of glass?" She pointed out the clear rock.

El Evan answered. "It is the clear stone of air."

"You got a stone too."

Kon looked up half dazed. "Now I do not feel so all alone, everybody must get stoned."

Slobo and Anita paddled their boat to a set of mountains on the horizon.

"Well it's nice to have a change of scenery." Anita smiled at the mountains ahead.

"I dunno I kinda like it up in the aqueduct. Peace, quite, everything far below you. Out of harms way." They approached the end of the aqueduct

Anita from her position in the rear paddled the boat as to turn it on its side.

"Hey what are you doing?" Slobo yelled.

Anita completed the maneuver and the boat entered, in reverse, the narrow opening before the aqueducts end. Two P'Orhks stood on either side of the narrow entrance lazily standing guard. Anita drew booth of her swords and ran them through both of them as the boat passed through the opening. She swirled around and cut down another two within her reach on the left bank before they knew what was happening. The remaining two on the other bank grabbed for their weapons.

Slobo shouted out. "These are mine babe."

Anita leaped to the other embankment. She sliced off the arm of the P'Orhk who had grabbed his halberd. She threw her other blade at the P'Orhk who was bent over reaching for his weapon. It rotated through the air piercing him cleanly through the back. He slumped over.

"I said they were mine." Slobo shouted from inside the boat. He stared at the P'Orhk as it groped at its lost arm.

Anita swung around and cleanly sliced though the one armed P'Orhk.

"You. You don't kill anything unless you have to." She reached down and pulled the blade from the back of the dead P'Orhk.

She walked up to Slobo and stared at him very plainly. "Is that understood?" She sheathed her swords.

The group sat assembled, outside the pools with the DeOrrifissers whom they had rescued.

Cass looked at them. "About 50 people. Not a great number, but quite a few to sneak past enemy lines with. Too bad we don't have enough armor for all of us. We could all pretend to be P'Orhks."

Princess Laeyaa furled her eyebrows. "But King Aleks has the master keys. They open the armory."

"They just left the keys lying around unprotected?" Kon asked.

Laeyaa smirked at him. "And what do you suppose it was that gave you that stone."

"None of the P'Orhks would venture in these caverns while the great air wolf, roamed the halls." Laeyaa stood triumphantly. "So it is true, the 8 heroes. Come let us arm ourselves, for I have renewed faith in our ultimate victory."

Robin focused intensely on the stone. He contorted his face with effort. "This is stupid Secret. I don't even know why I bother trying. It's impossible."

"You're not letting it be possible. You're too grounded. You're capable of tapping into the magical energy, but it's like you won't let yourself."

"Maybe you're wrong about me. You were wrong about Bart."

"I wasn't wrong. It's the stone that's magic not him. You have the capacity for magic without a stone."

"I obviously don't have capacity for magic with this stone." He pointed at the stone he had been trying to levitate.

Robin frowned. "I dunno everything about this place seems so unreal."

Secret stared down at her hands, which seamed relatively solid even next to Robins. "Everything here seems so real to me here. I feel real."

"You're different that's for sure."

"It's because of this." Secret held up the ring on her finger. "It belonged to her. She died here."

Robin looked at her as though expecting to hear more.

Secret turned to face him again when she spoke her voice seemed more mature and she seemed somehow more regal.

After the departure of the wizard, the long stressed alliance that had been forged amongst the peoples of the lands was sundered, and great wars now broke out between the kingdoms of men. The green stone came into the keeping of a noble El Fvis woman. She left the forests to go among the lands of men, healing men in each opposing army to urge them to lay down their arms. After many years she fell into despair as there seemed to be no end to the bloodshed and her efforts looked to be as useful as giving a band aid to a heart attack victim. Soul weary she took a retreat back to her homeland the El Eeg forest near the plains of El Helm Arraad. One night she was awakened by bad dreams and ventured onto the plain for a walk. With her keen eyesight she spotted a group of men. They wore light armor, dressed all in black, and crouched as if not to be seen approaching the forest. Quietly she approached them, and with her keen hearing could make out their whispers.

"You sure she's here and unprotected, she's usually surrounded by huge armies, quite well loved by the soldiers who would do anything to protect her."

"She's here all right, and that beautiful green stone, do you know how much that stone is worth? Just kill her quickly and grab it, then we'll get out of here before we run into any El Fvis."

He stopped dead in his tracks, before him stood the El Fvis woman. Radiance poured from her.

Out of reflex and without any forethought, one of the murdering thieves had drawn his dagger and before she knew what was happening he trust it into her breast with the practiced ease of one who murders for a living.

The years of constant struggle to contain the blood flow of the wars of men had worn her strength and compassion, and her anger flooded through her as she saw before her the very symbol of what she struggled against for so long, the greed and lust for power mixed with the viciousness of man.

Though mortally wounded, she let her hate overwhelm her, and she killed all of them with but a touch.

And powers of destruction she had released consumed her, for with them she destroyed the ring, and with it and chance of saving or savaging her life.

Secret turned away from Robin and looked into the forest. "She didn't mean for those people to die. She's sorry."

Secret slumped to her knees. He head fell forward. "I didn't want to kill all those people."

Robin approached her from behind and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, sorry Robin."

.

The large group wearing purple tinted P'Orhkish armor camped on a rocky hill overlooking the valley.

El Evan sat away from the group gazing at Echo as she talked to a group around her. He looked over to Aleks who was chatting amenably with Laeyaa. He sighed deeply.

Kon shook his head at Cassie in disbelief. "I knew that being around Bart so much would eventually get to you. That plan is totally loco."

"We got away with it before."

"You want us to march to the front along with the P'Orhks. What are you planning to do Cassie? Try talking them out of being creatures of monstrous evil and go strait upstanding citizens?"

"No spy on them. Learn their plans ands stuff."

Kon raised the stone in his hand. "But with these stones we have a lot of power now. I say we-"

Cassie cut him off. "Forget it Kon it's too risky besides you haven't figured out how to work that thing yet. So basically you're still powerless."

Kon peered angrily at her. "You really like rubbing that in don't you?"

El Evan stared at Echo enchanted.

A pair of hands flashed before his face. "Hello."

Aleks stood in front of him. "I see something's got your interest."

"Such a strange girl. It is as if I do not interest her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well look at me. I am both tall and handsome."

"Don't forget modest."

"All women find me attractive. But this one does not."

"Well why don't you talk to her."

"And what would I say? I am unlike the other El Fvis folk, they are joyful and carfare, I am… reserved some would even say a little bit stuffy."

"You don't say?"

"So what do I say to this girl when I approach her?"

"I do not know. Tell her she looks nice. It's a start."

El Evan hesitatingly came up to Echo who was dressed head to toe in P'Orhkish armor.

"You… um… you look really nice."

"You like to see me clad in armor and brandishing weapons of destruction?"

"No of course not. I think it's hideous, a terrible sight."

"You think I'm hideous."

"No, yes, but… excuse me I think I hear my mother calling me." He blushed and walked away from Echo.

A large group was working around Bart.

Bart nudged Toelkeen so that when he stood one of his slates fell from his arms.

Bart reached out to catch it. But it slipped out of his fingers and into El Dalee's art supplies. They landed all together in a pile.

"Uh whoops, don't worry we'll get this comic done." He looked at them confidently. "We will publish this comic."

"Oh uh." He looked at them nervously. "Oh man I just remembered there's no publishers nowadays. How in the world are we going to produce the comic?"

Impulse reached down to pick up the art supplies he had spilled. When he lifted the paper off he noticed that the slate that had been smeared with paint had made a mirror impression against the piece of paper.

He looked up inspired. "Hey that's a great idea!"

Impulse turned to Toelkeen and El Dalee "Do you guys know any really good slate carvers?"

"My uncle is a renowned slate carver." Toelkeen announced.

"Get him I've got wise plan."

The gang looked at the DeOrrifissers they had rescued dressed in purple tinted P'Orhkish armor.

Kon looked on skeptically. "Ok if we're sneaky and real quite and don't draw any attention to ourselves we might be able to pull off this infiltration."

Cass stared down where part of the P'Orhk army had camped for the night. "I dunno Kon I think maybe Dioby had a point with his, - walk in like you own the joint- spiel."

She stared astonished at the corpse of a DeOrrifisser being eaten by a P'Orhk. "My god!"

Laeyaa looked down at the horrid sight. "There are many DeOrrifisser slaves used outside the compound to help with the transport of goods to the front."

Cassie stood up determined. "Well, we'll see about this. Get ready to move out behind me."

Kon stared at her incredulously. "Cass, are you nuts?"

Cass marched into the P'Orhk encampment. The others slowly followed her.

Cassie shouted at the P'Orhk gnawing at the corpse of the dead DeOrrifisser. "Knave you will stop this at once."

Cass turned to the ranked P'Orhk in charge. "Have I you to blame?"

The P'Orhk walked toward her and removed his full-faced helm. "I am glad he ate her."

She turned her back slightly then whipped out her short blade and cleanly sliced the P'Orhks head off.

"I am Cassius Sandmarcus, coronal to the P'Toree Ann legions." She placed her foot on top of the body of the dead P'Orhk.

"By order of the general all DeOrrifisser slaves are to be turned over to us at once."

Kon marched up through the Crowd of purple armor clad DeOrrifissers.

Cass saluted him. "General sir."

"Why…" The P'Orhk looked over at Cassie standing over the body of the headless P'Orhk. The P'Orhk marched up to the general and respectfully bowed his head. "All DeOrrifisser slaves will be handed over as the general wishes, and for whatever purpose the general wishes."

Kon stared at the mutilated DeOrrifisser arm that had been gnawed at. He smiled slyly at the P'Orhk. "We wish to eat them ourselves."

At this the P'Orhks expression brightened. "Yes sir. At once general sir."

Robin looked on at the two he had seen bicker at the banquet table. They laughed and joked with one another. Robin approached them

The DeWorfer looked up at the El Fvis. "That's true. There are a lot of parallels."

Robin greeted them. "Uh hi guys, good to see you getting along so well."

"Yes I was just telling El Grekoe here that it's amazing how similar our religious scriptures are."

"Huh? What brought all this about?"

"It's your friend the wise Aeker. He has released the scriptures to the masses." He held up a small pamphlet sized book. He pointed to Bart who was nearby at a table busy with a group of El Fvis and DeWorfers. Various sheets of paper lay scattered about the table.

As Robin approached he saw that Bart was pressing the mirrored image of the carved slates smeared with ink against a sheet of paper. On each page was a comic strip, these were being assembled together and handed out.

"Hey wise Bart Guttenberg."

"Hey Robin. Have you heard the good word?" Bart handed Robin a pamphlet-sized comic book.

Robin opened and read the comic story.

The Story of the Creation of the Peoples.

A long time ago, before there were any races on the face of the world, the great creator god looked around and wondered what else he should create but he was stumped and could not make up his mind. The creator god went to the trees in the forest and he asked them, "Whom should I create?"

And the forest replied. "Someone who loves the woods and streams and the wild areas of the world."

And so the great creator scattered seeds on the ground. And from these seeds grew the El Fvis people.

Then the creator god turned to the stones and mountains. "Whom should I create?"

And the stone answered. "Somebody hardy and weathered, and able to withstand the sea. Someone who loves me for all my treasure."

And so the great creator god chiseled from the stone both the DeWorfers and the DeOrrifissers.

Robin closed the comic book. "Hey wise Aeker, this wasn't such a bad idea. But do you know what this will do to their culture having their first mass produced work, be a comic book. Everything after it is likely to follow the same model."

"You mean," Impulse held up the pamphlet hopefully. "This comic might be worth a lot some day?"

End of Part 6

"The Lord of the Stones" m


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7 "General Incursion"

Kon marched through the encampment, several of the P'Orhks stood and saluted. They called out on either side of him as he passed by. "General sir. "

Cass walked along side him. "You're popular. Words of your exploits have spread. The P'Orhks like your brutality."

One of the soldiers before Kon bowed. "The men were wondering why you or your legion never remove your face helms and let us see what you look like."

Kon brought a mace down hard onto the head of the bowed soldier.

The hapless P'Orhk slumped forward dead.

Kon looked up at the shocked P'Orhks before him. "That's why I never remove my helm. Any of you that I see without a helm will receive the same treatment."

The soldiers quickly strapped on their helms and armor. One of them stepped forward in full armor and weapons. "We are always prepared for battle. General sir."

Kon turned and walked away from them. Several of the soldiers saluted and repeated. "General sir."

Slobo and Anita followed a path along the barren surface of the salted plane. Slobo marched ahead looking frail and distracted.

Anita called to him. "Slobo we better stop here. It's getting dark."

Slobo slumped forward onto the ground, his were rimmed red and deadened.

He stared out over the vast empty salt plane.

He heard a rumbling on the horizon. Grayness approached.

The barbarian galloped toward him. The force of the horse's hooves cracked the salt beneath them. "Slobo."

Slobo turned ready to fight.

Slobo pulled back his fist. Hatred burned his eyes.

Anita stared down at him. "Slobo."

Slobo blinked at the figure before him. "Oh babe I'm sorry I didn't, mean it. I just been drinking too much…"

Anita shook her head at him. "Slobo, you haven't been drinking."

"I forgot I haven't been drinking. I must have really drunk a lot."

"You've been dreaming."

Slobo stared out at the backed night sky and the small campfire Anita had made from what was available to burn.

Anita grabbed Slobo firmly by the shoulders and stared him in the eyes. "Slobo please tell me what is it. What's going on? What happening with you?"

Slobo pulled away from her.

Slobo slammed the salt plain with his fist so hard it shattered sending a huge spider web of cracks out through the salt. "I think I'm cracking up."

"Slobo." Anita went over to him.

"Nevermind, forget it, just leave me alone ok." Slobo grabbed his blanket and lay down again on the salt plain, on the opposite side of the beaten salty path they were following. He turned his back from the fire.

Anita took one of the twigs from the campfire and used it as a torch. She held it over where Slobo had curled up away from the fire.

Slobo peaked out from the darkened shadow under his blanket. "Ain't no use in turning on your light babe, I'm on the dark side of the road."

El Evan sat along the ridge of rocks high above the P'Orhk encampment. The barren rocky area was well lit from the moon high overhead.

He heard a noise from behind him. He quickly drew his sword.

Echo emerged from the darkness. "Oh it's you. I was wondering what a P'Orhk was doing sitting alone in the dark."

"Yes I suppose." He stared at her. "Why are you here alone in the dark? After all these of years of silence, I'd have though you'd want to socialize. Be with people."

She paced gracefully under the moonlight. "Yes it's funny. That's what I thought I wanted. Now part of me just wants to be left alone."

"Yes I can relate. Since I was a child, importance, responsibility and people have been trust upon me. As king I was obligated and always will be obligated to treat them after a certain fashion. Sometimes I wish it would all go away and that they would all leave me alone."

El Evan paused suddenly aware of himself. "But if you want to be alone then perhaps I should be leaving I mean we can't be alone together can we? Uh.. I mean I'm merely pointing out that we can't be alone if were together not that I'm asking if I could be alone together with you. Not that I mind that you're here with me now alone together. What I mean to say is… if you want me to I'll leave."

Echo sat beside him. "How about we both be alone. Together."

El Evan gestured to the barren high mountain ground. "My homeland is green and lush. This land is very different, rugged and hard."

"This land is old. It is the hard stone and dust from which all that is lush and green and living comes from."

Echo stared out over the moonlit rocky hills. "Is not what you see before you truly beautiful?"

El Evan turned to face her. "Yes," he muttered.

She turned to face him. He continued. "What I see before me right now is truly beautiful."

Slobo and Anita hobbled over the barren salt plane. Slobo pointed to a shape on the horizon. "Is that his castle on the horizon? It's huge."

They approached closer. They saw that it was not a castle but a large colossal statue carved of salt of a very plain woman. "Gee not only is this guy a psycho but he has lousy taste. Heck she's not even nude what's up with that?"

They past by the giant woman colossus. Beyond her in the distance they saw a castle. It splintered up from the salt bed, hard jagged knives of salt spiking upwards.

Slobo gasped. "There it is. Now all we got to do is march in there and shove this through his heart." He held up the back stone.

"Slobo." Anita called to him.

Slobo griped the stone tightly. His lips drew back in a snarl. "I'll rip him into him with my bare hands."

"Slobo."

He clenched his teeth together. Foam poured from his mouth. "Tear out his intestines, with my teeth."

"Slobo! For gods sake! What the hell is the matter with you?"

He turned to face her absent-mindedly whipping the foam from his lips.

He blinked, and then turned away from her.

Anita leaped into the air and landed in front of him facing him.

Slobo stared at her angrily. "What the hell ya wanna hear babe. That I wanna tear to shreds any living thing I see. That everything that walks, crawls or swims I wanna see dead. That every time I see your face I want to bash your teeth in. Huh, is that what you wanted to hear?"

He shoved her out of the way and walked by her angrily.

The purple clad P'Orhks marched evenly through the swath of P'Orhks headed to the front. Cassie gasped as she saw an extremely large group of P'Orhks below her on the embankment to what had learned was the Lake Ed Naedee. Various camps were set up and large covered wagons were being carted into the encampment.

She looked up to see a sheer cliff wall facing them across the lake. She stared at it puzzled. "What happened to the city?"

El Evan looked up at the cliff edge. He saw, with his keen vision, El Fvis firing from the cliff into the P'Orhks gathered near the shore utilizing various catapults and siege weapons. "The city is gone. Yet our people hold out still."

They marched confidently down into the encampment.

Cassie pointed to large tents in the distance. "Everybody ready? Let's go see who's in charge here."

Inside a large canvas tent a group of taller human like P'Orhks were gathered around a table examining diagrams.

Cassie folded back the tent flap. "Generals. I'd like you to meet the general."

Kon stepped into the tent. "Generals," he nodded slightly.

"The general will generally inspect all general operations so that things do not go as disastrously as before."

One of the P'Orhkish generals spoke up. "On whose authority do you do this?"

"The general is commander of the P'Toree Ann legions, the personal and trusted guard to the great lord."

Kon stepped forward pointing to the diagrams. "What are these you are looking at?"

One of the P'Orhks stepped aside so that Kon could examine it. "These are the latest attack plans general. Come and take a look."

Cassie smiled broadly beneath her P'Orhkish face helm.

Cissie sat with Gud Luk by a mountainous stream.

Cissie nudged herself over to sit beside him. "Gud Luk, do you like me?"

Gud Luk stared at her perplexed. "Of course I like you. You're a wonderful girl."

"Well it's just that we've been dating for a while now and you really haven't made one move on me."

Gud Luk's eyes widened. "We've been dating?

"Of course we have, romantic walks through orchards."

"We've been dating?"

Cissie stared at him confused. "We haven't been dating?"

"Cissie I like you. You're a really nice girl."

She peered at him wounded. "A nice girl?"

"And I'm flattered that you'd be interested in me that way, but we can't date because of our dates. Our birth dates that is. I am 197 years old."

Cissie's mouth fell open. "You're what?"

"If I were younger perhaps…"

"You're like an old geezer and you didn't tell me?" She scuttled away from him. "What are you? Some kind of sleazy old man?"

"Cissie." Gud Luk called to her as she ran away from him into the forest.

"General sir, general sir." Cassie came running up to Kon.

"Colonel, what is it?"

"Our inspector's sir, they found some dangerously faulty materials." She held up a length of round metal pipe. She brought it slamming down on her armor-plated thigh bending the pipe easily.

Cass threw down the section of bent pipe. "We suspect sabotage sir."

Kon yelled out. "Whose in charge here?"

A P'Orhk came up to him and bowed subserviently. "I'm the foreman. I'm in charge."

Kon yelled. "You! What do you think you are doing sabotaging the project?"

The P'Orhk looked up confused. "I sabotaged the project?"

"At least you are man enough to admit it. For that I give you a quick death." Kon drew his sword and sliced the foreman's head cleanly off.

He pointed his sword at the headless corpse and turned to the P'Orhks surrounding him. "This traitor would have led to our defeat."

Kon pointed his sword at the bent piping. "I want those materials replaced immediately. See to it colonel."

"Yes general." Cassie headed toward the shore with the mirror she had been given in her hands.

Admired mutterings of, "general sir," came from the P'Orhks on either side of him as Kon walked away.

Robin stared out over the embankment on the other side. A large floating scaffolding had been partly constructed overnight. Even under the pressure from the El Fvis archers the P'Orhks continued to build on it. Robin frowned. "Damn. Well that answers the question of how they're going to scale the cliff walls."

"They'll be able to come at us quicker than ever before." Robin hung his head. "I don't know that we can win this battle. I don't know if it's possible. Secret you have power. Can you do anything?"

Secret looked down. "I can do no more."

Robin slammed his fist into his palm. "Damn it. Dammit! I can't think of a way out."

Secret calmly said. "Don't worry Robin there will be light."

"Light? I told you I can't think of anything. I haven't even had a flash of insight."

Suddenly Robin had a bright light flashed in front of his eyes. He looked down over the cliff to see far below on the other side in the P'Orhk army on the other side of the river where the flash was coming from. It stabbed his eyes in a series of dots and dashes. "Morse code." he smiled. He took out a pencil and began jotting it down.

Sunlight began to spread over the horizon. A crude horn trumpeted.

The twilight-draped encampment of P'Orhks began to stir.

One of the P'Orhkish generals awoke suddenly. A steady chant of "General! General!" began to grow outside his tent. He opened the tent flap and came out from his tent. "What is happening?"

"It is the general, general. He and his legions stand on the field ready to charge."

"What? The attack does not begin until tonight."

He ran out to see the purple clad warriors assembled near the scaffolding that had been assembled. It was now being pushed to the other bank against the wall.

Kon had his sword raised into the air. The chants of "General! General!" grew ever louder.

"General what are you doing?" the P'Orhkish general pushed through the group of assembled P'Orhks.

"I, and my legions will defeat them. We will sweep over the cliff walls and crush them."

"Defeat them by yourselves? That's impossible."

"Why is that impossible? The last army that thought that it was impossible failed here."

The P'Orhkish general backed away from Kon.

Kon faced the P'Orhks assembled around him. "Brothers, what we do in life echoes an eternity."

"I what?" Echo asked.

"Never mind." Cassie whispered.

She approached Kon. "Hey lay off the rhetoric. We're not supposed to be boosting these guys moral."

Kon thrust his sword forward and began to run. "Attack." They charged into the line of boats and stormed up the scaffolding.

A group of P'Orhks peered from below. "Look it's amazing not one of them has been slain yet by arrow fire."

Kon and the legion approached the top of the scaffolding.

"By the great lord the general is doing it."

"He's breached them. He's taken the cliff."

The P'Orhks looked to the Cliffside where the general had broken through anxiously. Thunderous cheering shouts of "General! General!" emanated from the P'Orhks beneath.

Then a bunch of figures dressed in purple armor were thrown from the cliff into the water below them. They clanked off the scaffolding as they fell. Finally a figure bearing the armor of the general was thrown over the cliff.

The thunderous shouts of "General! General!" ceased.

"They've slain the general." The P'Orhks stared dumfounded.

One of the P'Orhks ran forward with his sword drawn attacking. "For the general!" He shouted.

The P'Orhks behind him raised their swords in response. "For the general!" They charged through the line of boats up the scaffolding.

"Wait!" The other general shouted. "We do not begin the attack until tonight."

The P'Orhkish soldiers rushed past him paying no heed to his commands. They swarmed up the scaffolding like ants.

Slobo and Anita crept toward the castle.

"It looks deserted. Lifeless."

"Good." Slobo said coolly.

Anita grabbed Slobo by the shoulder. "Slobo wait. Whatever happens in there, you better let me handle it."

Slobo ignored her and stormed past her into the castle.

Anita called after him. "Slobo."

Slobo stood outside the sharp shard salt walls of the castle. "Ain't no way in." He drew back his fist and slammed the salt wall with a tremendous blow. Chunks of salt shattered outwards.

Only a small indent was made in the salt wall. Anita approached behind Slobo drawing her sword. "Move." She commanded.

She slashed downward with her blade into the salt wall. She drew back her sword and slashed at it again. "Looks like you can't hack it honey, maybe we better slash it."

She kicked at the section of wall with her foot. A square cleanly cut section of salt was pushed inwards. Anita crawled inside the entrance.

Robin looked at the mounds of P'Orhks scaling the scaffolding toward them. "All right everybody. This is it. We have got to hold this line. You can't withdraw from this cliff face for any reason. If they break through this line we're dead."

Cassie talked to a group just behind the cliff. "All right guys, your job is simple. If you see any gap in the line or if you see a spot where you're needed then you jump in. Don't do so until that time. We don't want it too cluttered. The last thing we need is for you to slay one of our own people accidentally."

Cissie was loosing arrow after arrow at the P'Orhks. " Geez, there are so many I couldn't miss if I wanted to."

"Here they come." Robin shouted.

One of the P'Orhks managed to reach Kon. It reached back to throw its spear. "For the general!" it shouted.

Kon brought his sword down on his head cleaving it in two. "Ya know I almost feel bad killing em after they say something like that. I guess I can console myself that they died fighting for a good cause. Me."

Slobo and Anita wandered through the empty castle.

Slobo peaked around a corner. "This place is a maze. Where the hell is this guy?"

"In through here." A voice called from an opened doorway beyond.

Slobo and Anita peered inside. The room was enormous, the ceiling stretched high above them like a cathedral. Inside sitting on a thrown of salt sat a figure completely enveloped in a gray haze, the same type of haze Slobo had encountered inside the El Fvis forest. The man was middle aged. He looked surprising modern. He wore a white lab coat, which underneath he wore a collared shirt and tie.

Slobo stepped brazenly into the room. "So you're the big evil batstich that's been makin' life hell for everybody. You're nothing but a big geek. Figures."

The man simply stared impassively at Slobo.

Anta stepped in front of Slobo hurriedly. "We have the stone."

The man's eyes furled. "The stone? You have the stone?"

"That's right, we have your precious stone. And you can have it back and have a fun time here all by yourself in this wonderful depressing home you have. Everything can be like it was before. All you have to do is call off your armies."

"You have the stone?"

"That's right but you gotta stop this war before we give it back to you."

The man leaped from his thrown. His face drew back into a snarl. "Give me the stone. Give me the white stone of Eden."

"White stone? Uh you sure you don't want a nice shiny back stone."

"It's not shiny. Nothing about it is shiny." Slobo pulled the triangular black stone from around his neck.

The wizard stared at it bewildered. The leaned back his head and laughed. "Ha, ha. You think that to be the black stone of death." He reached under his shirt and pulled out a stone on a small chain. It was black like Slobo's stone was however unlike Slobo's pyramid shaped one, this one was perfectly square in shape, all save for one corner with was hacked off and missing. "This is the black stone. That is merely a piece from it that I thought I had lost long, long ago."

End of Part 7

"The Lord of the Stones" m


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8 "Final Fantasy"

The battle raged furiously on the cliffs. The DeWorfer Maartin Luethor and the El Fvis El Grekoe who had fought recently over religious arguments now fought side by side against the P'Orhks. A P'Orhk jumped from the scaffolding onto the El Grekoe knocking him back. El Grekoe lay helplessly flat on his back. The P'Orhk on top of him raised a jagged dagger above his head.

Maartin Luethor jumped on top of the P'Orhk, stabbing it through the back of the neck with his blade. He threw the P'Orhks body off of El Grekoe. "You don't think I'd let some P'Orhk slay you now do you."

El Grekoe looked up at him a pained expression on his face. A dagger lay buried inside his side.

Kon lashed his boot heel on the head of a P'Orhk knocking him from the scaffolding

Cassie stood just behind him on the cliff. She held the red stone in her hand and cursed. "Damn it why won't it work."

"Forget the stone Cass. I have." Kon slashed away with his sword. "Just grab a sword and go to it."

"But the stone is such a powerful weapon."

Kon hacked away below him. "In your hands Cass a sword is a powerful weapon. You're better than Luke Skywalker with that thing."

"Really? You think so?"

Kon dodged out of the way of a spear thrown at him. A P'Orhk on the other side of him grabbed hold of his sword arm.

From behind Kon, Cassie's sword cut through the P'Orhks arm. Needless to say he lost his grip and fell down toward the water below.

Kon stood and looked at Cassie beside him. Black blood dripped from her sword blade. "Yeah I think so."

Two P'Orhks climbed the scaffolding coming at Cissie. She drew back her bowstring. "Damn I can only get one of them. The other one is going to get me."

She loosed the bowstring. The arrow hit in the chest of the P'Orhk she had been aiming at. An arrow also struck the chest of the one she had not aimed at.

Cissie turned aside her. A handsome El Fvis faced her. "Gud Luk."

Gud Luk smiled. "Indeed it is, but as it was good timing as well."

The man in the lab coat smiled as he walked towards Slobo and Anita. The gray haze that surrounded him followed him as he walked. "You are quite right in presuming that I wish the stone. But you do not have the stone that I am seeking."

"The white stone?" Anita offered.

"That is correct. With the white stone all will be put right with the world."

Anita raised a finger in the air. "Uh pardon me for being nosey but how would you define right with the world?"

"It is when I am reunited with my beloved Rebecca and we can rule in peace over the land."

"Huh?" Anita turned to Slobo. "This isn't so bad. This guy isn't a mad wizard at all. He really seems quite reasonable."

"Yes when my wife returns to me Ray and Rebecca Stillin shall have the whole of the earth as our garden. All the living creatures that plague it now will be swept away so that my wife can enjoy her garden in peace."

Slobo glanced over at Anita. "Uh don't you mean quite unable to reason. So where's this wife of yours now?"

The man pointed through one on the thin windows to the giant colossal salt stature of the plain woman. It faced them serenely. "There is my Rebecca."

"I will use the white stone to bring her through the portal. After thousands of years it is nearly within my grasp."

Maartin Luethor carried El Greco to the makeshift hospital they had set up. "Hurry, hurry he's got a bad gut wound."

A group of El Fvis medical attendants grabbed El Grekoe from his arms and laid him on a cot.

"What can I do? What can I do? " Maartin hovered about the El Fvis who were examining the wound.

One of the healers pulled him by the shoulder. "Get out of the way. There's nothing you can do here."

"There must be something…"

El Grekoe opened his eyes and let out a faint whisper. "You can pray for me. Pray to your gods for me."

Maartin grabbed his hand. "I will. I will pray for you."

"Now go, go and slay some P'Orhks."

Robin stood behind the line of those fighting on the cliff. He saw a group of DeWorfers struggling with some P'Orhks who had made it up over the cliff wall. Robin pointed to them and shouted to a group behind him. "Help them out. Plug that hole."

A group of DeOrrifissers, now without their purple armor, charged toward the hole with their battle-axes and war hammers raised above their heads. "For the general!" They laughed as they charged the field.

Robin raised his eyebrows. "Huh, well what do ya know? My troops love me."

Cassie thrust out her sword piercing a P'Orhk through the neck. "That's what I call my P'Orhk chop."

The P'Orhk fell backwards. Cassie wasn't able to extract her sword from its throat. She tumbled over the cliff with it.

"Cassie." Kon yelled. He looked down terrified. Instantly dropping all the weapons in his hands, he leaped after her.

"Damn you." Cassie pushed her feet against the shoulders of the dead P'Orhk in an attempt to free her sword as she was falling. "Oh Geez, how could I forget I can't fly. I'm going to die."

She tried to slow her decent. A pair of arms grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up into the air. "Kon! You're flying."

Kon looked at her confused. "That's right. I'm flying."

He swooped over the plain. "I'm flying. I can fly. I can…"

Kon and Cass started to fall abruptly. "I can't fly, I can't fly."

Cass slowed their decent to the ground. "As soon as you became conscious of the fact that you were flying you couldn't fly anymore. Isn't that odd."

Ray looked out the window at his statue. "Soon Rebecca, soon we shall be together."

Anita chastised him. "Do you really think Rebecca wants to be with a maroon like you? Here my darling Rebecca, come and join me in my castle of death. You really are a geek."

Ray whipped around to face her. "You! You dare speak of my wife."

Slobo stepped in front of Anita. "Actually it's not your wife she's speaking about." Slobo pointed his thumb out the window to the giant statue. "Although she really does have a big ass on her. She's talking about you. You loser. Ya know you're an even bigger ass."

"None have had the temerity to speak to me thus. Tell me little man how is it that you are able to withstand the power of the death stone?"

"Me and death we're old friends, we get along real good. Perhaps I'll introduce you to my friend death. My old friend death can be a little awkward around certain people. So the instructions can be terribly slow and painful. But after a little while just chatting I guarantee you be begging death to be your friend too."

"Well little man I guess it's time to say hello to your friend." He thrust his hands forwards the grayness that enveloped him pushed outwards toward Slobo.

Slobo pushed out with his might. Grayness emanated from him completely enveloping him like the wizard.

"Slobo no!" Anita cried and jumped behind him. The entire room could be seen filling up with gray. "Slobo no!"

"Come boy let's see what you have."

Slobo pushed forward with his grayness. It met the wizards in a swirling of shades.

"Slobo no! You're covering the whole room in death!" Anita shrunk into the colored part of the room remaining.

Slobo foamed at the mouth. His face was contorted in hatred. The grayness poured from him like a storm. The wizard leaned back unaffected and smiled contentedly.

Anita scrunched into the last bit of colored space. "Slobo! Stop! This is what he wants don't you see. Slobo please, please don't kill me. Don't kill me."

Something stirred in Slobo's eyes. "Nita babe." The grayness around him dampened completely. He fell backwards unconscious.

The stone triangle that Slobo carried around his neck broke away from him and flew forward to Ray. It joined to the corner of his black stone with a resounding thud completing the square figure.

Anita rushed over to the fallen Slobo.

Ray stared at them with maddened eyes. "My lord, my lord, the power. The power!" He raised his hands above himself triumphantly. Where he had once been covered in gray he was now covered in the deepest haze of black. Deep was the abyss that one stared into when looking upon him.

Anita grabbed Slobo and slung him over her shoulder. She started running.

The blackened Ray wizard made no attempt to follow. He stood transfixed reveling in his newfound power. Reams of blackness swept through him. "I am what all creatures fear."

She ran hurriedly carrying Slobo to the exit.

"Well how does it look?" Robin turned to Ariss beside him.

Ariss responded enthusiastically. "Great there are more on the scaffolding all the time. We are creating quite a logjam at the cliff. It's just a matter of time until there are enough."

Robin stared at a wounded DeWorfer being carried away on a stretcher. "I hope it isn't too much time, every second costs us."

Kon stood overlooking the cliff with a new sword in hand. "Cass, would you say that the basin of that scaffolding was buckling a bit."

Cass fought across from him "Why I do believe you're right general Kon, I do seem to notice it buckling. You know they really should have built that better."

"I agree. I bet you that faulty material was involved."

"Actually," Cass saw the scaffolding beginning to waver. "I can pretty well guarantee it."

All in one moment the bottom corner of the scaffolding gave in. The scaffolding began to lean and being full with P'Orhks once it started to lean it started to topple. The entire mass of P'Orhks as well as tons of metal scaffolding were sent falling down to the water far below.

The DeWorfers and the El Fvis let out a triumphant roar.

Cissie looked down amazed at destruction below her. Cissie turned overjoyed. "Gud Luk we won. Gud Luk?"

She looked to see Gud Luk lying on the ground, a hand held over his side, which was soaked in blood.

She knelt beside him. "Oh my god Gud Luk."

She raised his head he looked at her weakly. "Cissie…"

She opened his shirt. "It's ok. You're going to be all right."

She looked at the wound. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh… oh god, Gud Luk."

He looked up at her serenely. "It's ok Cissie. To all things an end must come."

"They can't end. I love you. You're my Elvin archer. Oh please…"

He gasped. "Shh… if you want I can still be your archer. I'll always be your archer Cissie. Please give… give Kuepidd my bow." His eyes rolled back into his head.

Cissie laid him back on the ground turned her head away from his body.

She looked up to see the crowd with their hands raised in triumph.

She buried her hands in her face and began to sob.

Anita ran from the castle with Slobo draped over her back. The blackness began to envelope the castle behind her. She heard a strange rumpling behind her. She turned again as she ran to look back at the castle. It had started to splinter breaking up into block like chunks. The castle walls began to crumple down. The blackness spread ever further outwards extending into every wall of the castle. Then the entire castle shook and completely collapsed in on itself. The blackness disappeared instantly now. Only a cloud of salt dust plumbed from the now destroyed castle.

Anita stared back amazed. A dust cloud approached her from the collapsed castle.

Anita threw herself and Slobo to the ground as the salt dust swirled over them.

Anita spat the salt from her lips. "Yeech salty."

Slobo stirred. "Uh. Oh geez, what happened?" He opened his eyes to see the salt granulized salt before him. "Oh, I remember something like this happened to me once before when I got drunk and went to sleep it off in the winter ice salt heap."

He turned to Anita. "Although I don't remember waking up with a broad."

"Slobo you're ok and back to normal."

"Normal babe. I ain't never been normal."

"Oh I see." She raised herself up on her elbow to face him. "So what are you then extranormal, abnormal?"

"Superunnormal."

"Superunnormal huh?" She threw her arms around him. "That's good cause my hobby is the supernatural. And I think they're somehow close to each other." She leaned over and kissed him.

Ariss looked below him to the P'Orhks on the river embankment. "I don't believe it, even after this disaster the P'Orhks rally on the shore. With their single mindedness of purpose you know they will eventually attack us again. Is there nothing we can do to stop these beasts?"

Robin gazed below to the P'Orhks who were angrily putting their siege weapons, which propelled giant rocks toward the cliffs back into place. "Damn it. This battle will have been useless unless we can find some way to neutralize those P'Orhks."

" Huh what's happening?" Robin looked to the P'Orhks below. They writhed and shivered about in their crude armor.

He looked below them again but he couldn't see a single P'Orhk. Instead the terrain was littered with pig carcasses.

Cassie peered down at the mass of pigs covering the bank. "Boy somebody really went to market with all the pigs."

Laeyaa looked passively below. "It is as they are before the dark magic of the wizard transform them into the P'Orhks."

Cassie stared at the corpse of a dead pig. "You mean they started out like this. Now that's sick."

"That's it! It's over! The threat from the great wizard is no more. We have won. We have been saved thanks to the heroes of the stones."

Ariss approached Robin with a sheet in his hand. "Now before I give you these official casualty figures I just want to say that all together we had a rather impressive victory."

"You're right Ariss. We did well. But how many people did we loose."

Ariss handed Robin the sheet with the casualty figures.

Robin examined it. He then crumpled the paper in his hand. Robins face turned down.

Kon carried pails of water inside a large hospital tent. "Tell me again why you volunteered us for this duty Cass. I thought you said you were looking forward to some time away from blood and gore."

Cass warily redressed the DeWorfer's leg wound. "We're here to do everything we can to make sure these people don't die."

She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. "Because I've seen more funerals in the last while then I ever want to see in my life again."

Cissie sat next to the small tree they had planted in the ground at Gud Luk's funeral.

"Why do you sit by his tree?" Kuepidd approached Cissie.

"I don't know it's the closest you El Fvis have to grave stones I guess. I don't know it's a place to remember him."

"This whole free forest is a good place to remember."

She handed him a fine long bow. "He wanted you to have this."

Kuepidd smiled and drew back its string in practice. "Wow, I'm going to go get some arrows." He ran off into the woods.

Cissie smiled as she watched Kuepidd go. Then she looked back to the freshly planted tree.

Cissie's face turned down. She knelt solemnly again by the tree.

The whole gang dined at the victory feast. Entire tables were set up assembled with and quite mixed between Deworfers, DeOrrifissers and El Fvis. The tables were stacked with various types of food.

Maartin Luethor looked to see El Grekoe slowly approach the table. He held his arm closely to his wounded side.

"El Grekoe what are you doing up and about? You should still be in bed."

"Maartin my friend, it is your gods they have done wonders for my health."

"Have they now?" Maartin smiled and pulled out a chair at the banquet table. "Then sit and partake of this feast that you may nurse yourself back to true heath."

Echo pointed Ivy out to El Evan. "So that is your queen. She is quite lovely." She then turned angrily away from El Evan.

El Evan stared at Ivy strangely. "Hmm I wonder if she is. I wonder if what we're truly seeing is a façade. And she is not my queen. She is queen of the forest, not the queen of the El Fvis people. To be the queen to the El Fvis people one must be truly beautiful."

He took Echo's hand. "As you are."

Cassie nudged Cissie, as she was playing with Kuepidd in the seat next to her. "Glad to see you're out of your gloomy mood at last."

"I am not. I am still terribly depressed."

Kuepidd thrust an arrow in front of Cissie. "Hey Cissie see the feather I put on this arrow."

Cissie took the arrow from Kuepidd. "That's pretty good Kuepidd."

Cassie turned to her. "That little kid has like, a major crush on you Cissie."

"Don't be ridiculous Cassie. Look at the age difference between us how could he possibly be attracted to…"

Kuepidd looked up at Cissie and stared at her dreamily.

Cissie turned back to Cassie. "Really a crush on me?"

Kon called out. "Hey Bart hand me down that bottle willya."

Bart grabbed the bottle and raised it in front of him. "Take this all of you and drink from it." He handed down the bottle.

"Uh good one Bart. The next thing you know your going to be making holy bread."

"Yeah I'm sure I saw it." Bart rooted through one of the baskets of food. He pulled out a loaf of bread with a large air hole baked in it. He held it up in front of him for all to see.

Robin smiled at the scene before him "Well what do you know? All is right and peaceful with the world."

Cassie replied. "Yeah that's great but it isn't our world. How do we get back?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know until recently I haven't really had time to think about the possibility of going home. Which brings us to our next problem Ivy. What do we do about her? She's the reason why we're here in the first place."

"Not to mention Slobo and Anita. Where the heck are they?" Cass added.

A haze of smoke appeared in front of them. Slobo and Anita peered at them both of them looked disheveled and ragged.

Cass approached them concerned. "You? You guys, are you all right?"

"Hey look babe it's a buffet." Slobo grabbed a ducks leg from the table and began to munch down on it. "Ah, there's nothing like a buffet by the campfire for a slayer of evil."

Cassie dragged them over to sit at the table.

"I must have teleported a million times to get here." Anita slumped at the table exhausted.

Slobo began pounding the food back.

Kon abruptly interrupted them. "So what happened? Where's the stone?"

Slobo talked between mouthfuls "I dunno. Somewhere back there along with his ruined body."

"He is dead then, the great wizard is dead?" Aleks smiled.

"I have a feeling that man had already been dead a long while." Anita answered stoically.

"Is the stone what the wizard wished?" El Evan questioned.

"No he wanted the white stone of Eden." Anita answered bluntly.

"Heh, he truly was mad for no such stone ever existed." Ivy looked at the crowd venomously.

Anita got up and stood above Ivy seated at her spacious table.

"So there is no white stone of Eden?" She stared Ivy directly in the eyes.

Ivy turned her gaze away from Anita.

With lightning speed Anita abruptly drew aside a leaf covering one on the bowls placed before Ivy.

A bright light emanated from a white round stone within the bowl

"The white stone of Eden!" El Evan gasped.

Ivy grabbed at the bowl it inadvertently spilled onto the table. The white ball rolled off of the table. By reflex Ivy's hand reached out to catch it. "No! No! I touched it! I touched it!" A white light emanated from the stone inside her hands. It reached out the envelope the Young Justice gang.

Ivy released the stone from her hands. It fell away in the whiteness surrounding them.

They blinked as the light faded. They looked around the chemist's laboratory they were in.

"No, no, you fools you've taken it all away. It was all I ever dreamed of and you've taken it away."

"She's right we're back where we started." Cassie stared at the gang who were dressed in their full costumes as they had been when they were initially swept away

Kon swooped in the air. "I've got my powers back."

"We all do." Secret intoned.

Bart clutched his head in his hands. "Oh no, I've lost my wisdom."

Kon smiled. "Too bad. Guess you'll have to settle for your normal stupidity."

"You won't miss being smart though. You'll be none the wiser." Cass added.

"I don't have my stone anymore." Cissie clutched around her neck.

Ivy scowled at them. "Neither do I. Damn you fools, the magic teleporting white stone is forever lost on Innbee Tweenerth. I can never go back there. For 500 years I was a queen. Now that's gone forever."

"I'll kill you all for this." Ivy came at them forcefully. Her jaw was slammed backwards by Robins fist. Ivy sank unconscious to the floor.

The others turned to him expectantly.

"Well." Robin faced them for a moment then said flatly. "Uh… thanks a lot for your help in capturing Poison Ivy."

"The Lord of the Stones" m

Appendix:

Notes on pronunciation of the names and places of Innbee Tweenerth:

The system of writing is generally believed to have originated with the El Fvis scholar El Faabet. The vowel sounds are long vowel sounds when followed directly by an E such as in the word bee or toe. The short vowel sounds are denoted by a single character such as in bet (soft e) or stretched double vowel sound such as in Aardvark. (soft a) There are 23 characters, C being replaced by K for the hard C sound as in can and S for the soft C sound as in cell, and Q being replaced by Kw and X being replaced by Ks. The Ch sound of church is replaced Tsh. G is always the hard G sound as in good, the soft G sound such as in germ being replaced by J.

.

The Red Stone of Flame. Cass (Eks Traa Speshiil)

The Yellow Stone of Light. Impulse (Eks Kaalibber)

The Black Stone of Death. Slobo (Eks Aampel)

The Blue Stone of Water. Cissie (Eks Plaa Naeshon)

The Colorless Stone of Air. Kon (Eks Ziit)

The Brown Stone of Earth. Robin, Echo (Eks Traa Ordinaaree)

The Green Stone of Healing. Secret (Eks Pensiiv)

The White Eden Stone. Anita (Eks Empt)


End file.
